


Silence, Slowly

by littlewanderergg



Series: Silence [1]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Consensual Sex, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Lemon, Lime, NSFW, Reader-Insert, Romantic Fluff, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Vanilla, but this fic is really REALLY slow u guys, fluff really slowly turning things into smut, im working on this really hard, omg i'm old, virgin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-10-19 07:28:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 46,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20653448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlewanderergg/pseuds/littlewanderergg
Summary: You haven't spoken a word in seven years. V, Dante, and Nero are all curious as to what you sound like. They all make an effort to try to get you to speak......by any means necessary.





	1. Whimper

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: No smut during the first few chapters. I'll put a warning here if the chapter is NSFW. Okay? OK. Happy reading!

Silence. _Absolute silence_.

Since Dante, Trish, and Lady were out doing a minor mission, and Nero and Nico were back home in Fortuna visiting Kyrie, you were left to tend to the shop. Everything should've been perfect... except that you were stuck there with V, another equally silent person whose nose is always stuck in a book.

He was at his reading chair beside a giant bookshelf that looked too new to be in this old, dilapidated building. You've seen him hold up that same book for months, you start to wonder if he likes the book so much he rereads it or he's a slow reader... the former being the most probable. He didn't seem to mind that the airconditioning wasn't working or that the sun was starting to set outside. He was just there, sitting and reading. You had to question yourself if he, like you, had to remind himself to breathe from time to time.

You, on the other hand, were in the kitchen. That was one of the reasons why Dante left you behind. He said something along the lines of: "You're good with knives... and among all of us, you're the one who can actually cook!"

No complaints there. You were done having delivered pizza, three times a day, for months. So, you stayed in the kitchen and decided to get started on dinner.

You loved the kitchen and you loved cooking a whole lot more. You loved the entire process of doing one thing after the other, while a complete other task is getting itself ready. The sequence of events and simultaneous nature always appealed to you and kept you busy. When you were in the kitchen, people knew to leave you alone... mostly because you didn't talk to anyone.

In fact, you haven't spoken a word since you were eighteen. People who encounter you like to make the assumption that demons somehow got your tongue but the truth is that the demons didn't do such a thing (even if you knew that it wasn't far from things they'd opt to do had they had the chance), it's just that... when demons attacked your town, they decided to kill your mother in front of you and eat her insides before your very eyes. At first, you couldn't talk because of the shock. Then, upon training with knives, you thought you couldn't talk because you were too angry. After meeting Dante, and killing the demon that defiled your mother, you decided to just not talk because there really wasn't anything else to say... and practically no one could understand you if you did decide to talk. So, now, you just talk using head nods, head shakes, gestures, and the occasional squint. You were still noisy in your head, but being the private person you are, even those thoughts were kept to yourself.

You put the chicken you were stuffing into the pre-heated oven, set the heat and the temperature, closed the oven door, and removed your oven mitts. With a small smile, you decided it was best to wait for it to cook completely.

"Gee, I hope I'm not related to that thing you just placed in your oven over there..." Griffon, V's winged familiar, suddenly flapped beside you, "We aren't related, right? You checked, didn't ya?"

You just shrugged your shoulders and raised your eyebrows at him, a gesture that meant you didn't know and you didn't check.

"If I ate some of that bird you are currently baking, would you say that I'm a cannibal of sorts...?" You heard him squawk at someone behind you, which made you turn and look behind as well. Over by the kitchen door was V, clad in his leather vest and still holding a book of poems to his face.

"What do you say, V?" Griffon asked, flying off to reintegrate himself back into V's inked arm.

"Hard to say... considering I've never seen you eat before..." V said, somberly, before Griffon disappeared into his arm. He closed his book and approached the oven, stopping closer to where you were. Closer than you could ever hope to be. He looked in and said, "How long before it's ready?"

You raised two fingers. Two hours, you meant to say.

"I see..." He said, his face stoic, giving you a slight glance behind his dark fringe, "I'll return to my reading, then..."

As he exited the kitchen, you put your hand on your chest. You could feel your heart beating so menacingly, you thought it just ran a marathon. You exhaled as your hands moved from your chest to the kitchen counter. You closed your eyes with such intensity that you saw white through the lids. As you caught your breathing, you wondered why V elicited that kind of reaction from you. It was so strange, so weird, and so new to you. You've been alone with Dante a lot of times, and although he would be his signature fresh self with you from time to time, none of his cheesy approaches would ever elicit a one-way ticket to a panic attack. And yet, here was V, standing too close to you, and you had to remind yourself to breathe.

It took a while for you to realize it... but you knew that somehow, you ended up liking V... and not in a comrade sort of way. You liked him as a person. You liked how he would always keep to himself, with his book, but take care of his familiars. Extremely introverted though he may be, but he got along with everyone just fine. And, in contrast with the others, he was the only one who didn't stop talking to you even if you didn't respond verbally. It's like you not speaking didn't matter to him... or at the very least, you didn't think it made him feel uncomfortable.

You raised your palm and slapped yourself. You were acting like a child. You had to grow up and get that silly, juvenile infatuation out of your mind. With an aggressive huff, you untied your apron and decided to leave the kitchen with the chicken still in the oven. After all, you still have a little bit less than two hours left to wait.

\-------

V saw you slowly make your way out of the kitchen. The sunlight was completely absent now, and you decided to turn the lights on. The electricity purred quietly as it spread through out the entire area, lastly turning on the neon sign outside. V decided to peek at you from behind his book with a curiosity he couldn't explain. He got introduced to you, along with the entire Devil May Cry crew, Nero, and Nico, during the mission regarding the Qliphoth roots. Dante was always mouthing out some shallow sentiment, Lady and Trish were all about the demon slaying, Nero was always caught up with not looking like dead weight, and Nico was always up in Nero's business about how he took care (or the lack of it) of his Devil Breaker. You, however, never said a single word. You would smile from time to time, but not a single sound escaped your lips. The most he's heard of you was your panting, especially after every demon battle. You were always unnervingly and uncomfortably quiet, and it was a very drastic contrast from your colleagues who just couldn't keep their mouths shut. Quite ironically, he felt closer to you because you were silent. After the mission, Dante told V about you seeing how demons killed your mother and, had he not stepped in years later, you would've been killed by them, too. He also added that you haven't spoken a word ever since, at least according to Dante, you all met each other. As the days turned into months, his curiosity boiled into a nagging need to find out how your voice sounded like... among other things.

You sat onto Dante's chair and got a paper and pen. You were scribbling something on it, your eyes focused on every line you make. V squinted at your figure. Had he not seen you slice down a Geryon Knight by yourself, he'd actually be moved to protect you. You were small--- a little over five feet--- and your hands were tiny. However, they were the perfect set of hands for your weapon of choice: Knives. With Nico involved, you got to work with knives infused with demon energy, so that made your skill very, VERY lethal. Dante called you "small but terrible" once and you pinned his hand on the table. You didn't like the fact that he called you small or terrible, but neither V nor you could deny that Dante was telling the truth. However, since you were not doing any missions, the ferocity in your eyes were also absent. They were replaced by a searching look, but V couldn't understand what you were searching for.

"_Alright, enough sitting around..._" V thought to himself, closing his book and leaving it on the bookshelf. He grabbed his cane and made his way towards the desk you were scribbling on. You seemed to be pretty focused on whatever it was you were doing that V had to tap the table with his cane for you to flinch quite violently. The hand that held your pen immediately moved to cover the paper you were writing on.

"I'm sorry to bother you..." V started. One of your hands was holding your chest, and you gasping for air. The only sounds you were making were huffs of air and that's a sound V's heard you make before. You waved your hands before you, a gesture to tell him that it was okay... that you were okay. Once your breathing calmed down, you looked at him, one eyebrow raised. You were wondering why he made his way towards you. You were waiting for him to speak.

As if reading your mind, he starts, "I've grown quite tired of reading. I saw you seated here, and I was wondering what you were doing."

A sharp inhale entered your nose. You bit your lower lip and scrunched your brows, uncertain. Both of your hands were now crossed on top of each other, trying to shield your work from V's eyes. He slowly looked at your defensive position and chuckled. He took a seat on the desk and laid his cane on his lap. He put a finger on the paper's edge and looked at you.

"May I see?" He asked you, obviously gentle but with a subtle hint of command.

Your brows furrowed deeper and you bit your lip harder, but you really couldn't see how you were going to get out of this one. At least, you couldn't see how you were going to get out of this in one piece. So, you slowly removed your hand from the paper and watched him lift it from the table. On it were words, written down with your beautiful cursive handwriting. V had to read the first few lines when he stated,

"Poetry?" He looked at you, "Were you writing poetry?"

You nodded, with your eyes fixed to the sides. You didn't have the strength to admit that looking at V and feeling the way that you felt put you in a literary mood. It was childish, and you knew that... but looking at V, his eyes practically burning through your words in earnest, made you think twice about your own sentiments. He then gave off his signature smirk and started reciting what you wrote out loud:

_My heart is a dead language_  
_and yet you_  
_pronounce every word_  
_perfectly and in time_

_My heart, a dusty tome_  
_and yet you_  
_turn my pages_  
_time and time again_

_My heart is a silent ocean_  
_but you, dearest_  
_are the wind that blows_  
_and causes ships to sink_

_My heart, oh, my heart_  
_is yours_  
_but only_  
_if you wanted it_

_I own not your heart_  
_but sometimes,_  
_I like to pretend_  
_that I do_

_But, my heart knows_  
_that in the morning_  
_your heart can_  
_and will only belong to you_

_So, my heart, ever so broken_  
_will always be silent_  
_For my heart longs for yours_  
_but its words can never be_  
_spoken_

You felt an extremely warm blush come over your entire face. That poem was for your eyes only, but here you were, exposing your most embarrassing thoughts to the person you were unrequitedly attracted to... and he was reading it out! Out loud, to boot! You didn't know what he thought about your work, and a part of you just wanted to get out of there so you stood up and started walking away... that is, until he reached out and grabbed your wrist. You looked at him with a questioning look. _Why is he still keeping you here?_

"This poetry sound elementary..." He started. You felt your heart sink six feet under.

"However..." _Huh?_

"These are the most innocent words I've ever seen written on a page." He said, laying the paper back down on Dante's table, "Your handwriting is beautiful."

You didn't think there was any way you could blush further, but you did. Curiously, V kept holding your wrist. You looked at his hand, and it made you wonder if it was his gentle grip or the lack of airconditioning (or both) is what's making you feel so warm. He was soon walking towards you, in his hand was the pen you hastily dropped. He put it in your hand and gave you a request.

"This might be a bit selfish of me, but can you please write something down for me?"

You nodded. Sure, that was your answer. You hurried back to the table, grabbed a fresh sheet of paper, and positioned your pen onto the surface. V stood beside you, waiting until you nodded that you were ready. When you did, he started reciting:

_Never seek to tell thy love_  
_Love that never told can be_  
_For the gentle wind does move_  
_Silently invisibly_

_I told my love I told my love_  
_I told her all my heart_  
_Trembling cold in ghastly fears_  
_Ah she doth depart_

_Soon after she was gone from me,_   
_A traveller came by,_   
_Silently, invisibly:_   
_He took her with a sigh_

You knew this poem, you thought. It was from William Blake, V's favorite poet. You put down your pen and looked at your writing, and you wondered why ---of all the William Blake poems V has memorized--- he'd choose to let you write this one. The wirings of your brain were jumping from one conclusion to the next and it must've shown in your eyes because the moment you furrowed your brows, V swiped the paper from before you and headed to his bookshelf. You were left there, confused. You saw him reach out for his volume of William Blake poetry and saw him put the paper in between the pages before returning the book back on the shelf. You were deep in thought when the **_ding!_** of the oven rang. You put the pen back onto the pen holder and rushed to the kitchen. You were slapping yourself silly as you made your way to the oven, bringing out the brown, baked chicken you put in two hours ago.

"_No, silly girl. That's not what he meant..._" You thought to yourself, his William Blake poetry recitation still ringing clear on your ears."_It was just a poem that he liked, that's_ _all..._"

\-------

You carried the bird onto the kitchen table to cool and you prayed to the gods that they cool you down, too.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you to write that specific poem down."

A voice rang behind you, so quietly, but you were so preoccupied with cooling down that he could've practically screamed it in your ear. V was standing behind you and you didn't want to know if he was looking at you or the baked chicken you just made. You also mentally hit yourself because how could you be so brave and put together in front of Pyrobats and Empusas, but completely lose your shit when it comes to V.

V didn't wait for your answer this time, he just continued to speak, "To be frank, you've gotten me quite... curious."

You turned and winced a little bit, both in confusion and in curiosity. Curious about what, you wanted to ask.

"Since I recited your childish poem, I was hoping that..." He cut his sentence and moved to a spot across the table from where you were standing, "you'd _recite _ the poem I dictated to you." He put a pause on the word "recite".

You bit your lower lip again. You had to admit, you felt a bit betrayed. Even if V didn't seem uncomfortable with your silence, his current declaration just gives points to the obvious fact that he is. You didn't know why but you sort of felt betrayed by that fact, just a tiny bit. You did appreciate the fact that he was honest enough to tell you his intentions, though. What you didn't appreciate was him calling your poem childish... But, _this was V we're talking about_. Everything that isn't William Blake would probably sound childish to him. You tried to move your tongue inside your mouth, but one look into V's (shockingly) forest green eyes turned that muscle back to stone.

V tapped his cane on the floor just once, and clicked his tongue. He decided to move around the table, slowly, towards your side. Your eyes following him, your lip starting to hurt from all of the biting you're doing. When he was already beside you, he interlocked his fingers together on his cane's handle and leaned his back onto the table's edge... His eyes not breaking from yours for one second, "I wonder what words waltz through that innocent mind of yours."

He inched his face closer to yours. You gulped, but didn't move. You didn't even blink. You didn't think you had the strength. He stopped when his lips were only a few inches from your nose. You could smell his breath, and you found yourself thinking that he actually... smelled pretty good. He smelled of darjeeling tea and yuzu oranges.

He seemed to like the tension you were feeling. You gulped again, but this time, you released your lower lip only to feel a slight zing on it. Before you could check, a tattooed hand rose from V's cane --- his own hand --- and let his thumb rest on your lower lip. A slight swipe on it produced a drop of blood that smeared itself onto V's inked thumb. You both stood there in silence --- V, staring at his thumb with your blood, and you, staring at V--- for a good few seconds, until V's gaze locked itself onto yours.

_Whimper_. A slight squeak exited your throat. It was the first sound you've ever made in seven years and, to be honest, it wasn't the most flattering sound in the world. However, the fact that you made a sound seemed to amuse V immensely. You knew this because, without breaking his stare at you, you saw the corner of his lips lift to from his signature smirk. It made you wonder if he was amused or puzzled or confused, but you knew better than to ask... out loud.

"Ah... progress." He put his hand onto your chin and raised your face up to his level as he straightened his posture as best as he could, "Let's see how far you can go, my little wanderer."

With that, he suddenly let go of you and made his way out of the kitchen. The silence around you was all the same except, this time, it felt heavier... thicker. It was more dense and you found it really hard to breathe. It was like you were underwater. You felt like you were drowning, but at the same time, there was that level of peace it brought by giving you chaos.

_Whimper_ .

"I heard that." V said, loudly from where he was seated. He was still listening for any sounds you could make, apparently.

You buried your face into your hands, feeling the temperature from your cheeks overheat. This... is going to be a tough one.


	2. Grunt

Dante practically kicked the door down as he entered the shop, Lady and Trish slowly following behind him. Lady was grumbling and Trish was silent as the dead, as all three of them were covered in red goo which anyone could assume was demon blood. V, once again seated on his chair beside his bookshelf, took one look at the oncoming group and sighed. He closed his book gently and placed it beside him, shaking his head in some form of disapproval.

"Why're you sighin' and shakin' your head, Mr. Poetry? Blake isn't stroking your pole the right way this time?" Dante looked at him as he put down all his weapons on the floor. Lady almost tripped on one of them and cussed at Dante. To which, Dante just raised an arm to shoo her away. Trish went directly upstairs to the bathroom to get herself cleaned up. You exited the kitchen and, upon taking one sniff of the entire place, you knew Dante was going to be sticky with demon blood and guts covering him all over.

"I am simply observing things... and, given your current _situation_ , I can't help but think that it would be a waste for you to taste our little wanderer's baked chicken." V approached Dante, poking his chest with the business end of his cane, "It would be criminal for someone as dirty as you to take one step closer to that divine dish she spent all day cooking."

"Ooh, I can be dirty, alright..." Dante laughed, "Now, I'm gonna get me some of that chicken!"

You were still standing by the kitchen doorway, as Dante approached where you were standing, you stretched out your hands to block his way. There was no way you were going to let Mr. Sticky Pants get to your chicken. The smell of infernal intestines grew stronger as he got closer to you, so you just held your breath and decided to block his path. However, with him being 6'4" and you being 5'2", it only took one firm grip on your tiny crown to move you out of the way. The chicken was in the middle of the kitchen table, still in its baking pan and not yet quite cooled. You stomped behind him, trying to wordlessly stop him from yanking a chicken leg from the baked bird when...

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you..." V, all of a sudden, showed up beside Dante and blocked his path with his cane, "You could at least take a shower first before grabbing your first bite. It's only..." He put his cane down when Dante didn't seem to struggle anymore, "_...decent_." Dante was about to protest when V pointed at you with his metal cane. You were standing there, hands balled in fists, eyebrows furrowed, and lips quivering in anger.

"You don't want to make her angry. You don't want her to pin something other than your hands this time." V tapped Dante's chest with his cane's handle and started walking away. Dante just lifted his arms up in defeat and headed out of the kitchen to go to the bathroom to wash. V followed him on his way out, but you stopped him. Grabbing his wrist, you tightened your grip... but didn't raise your eye to look at him. You wanted to thank him for stopping Dante, but you were still too embarrassed that he heard you whimper... twice.

"You're very welcome..." He replied, "I didn't want Dante ruining the special food you made. It would've... upset you."

You blinked at him just once, and when he made his way back to his chair, you wondered how in the world he could get to know you so well in a span of a few months without you muttering a single word.

  
\-------

A few hours have passed and everyone was getting their piece of chicken from the kitchen. First was Lady, who got a breast part, took a bite of it and gave you a thumbs up. You smiled at her as she left to go eat in the lobby. Second was Trish, she sort of cursed at the fact that Lady got the breast part first and settled for a rib.

"You know... It's really nice to have a homecooked meal after a mission. Kinda makes this place feel a bit like home." She told you while you were slicing off a bit of the chicken. You smiled again and nodded. You felt good that you contributed to that feeling, whether it be from slicing a demon to kill or slicing a chicken to eat.

Next came Dante. He was clean now. He smelled of mint aftershave. He still had a towel on his head when he approached you with a plate. He didn't have to tell you that he wanted the wings. You gave him both the wings and pushed him out of the kitchen before he could sneakily steal the entire chicken from the table. He was laughing at the fact that such a short girl could push him out of the kitchen, but he didn't try to resist. You smiled and found it pretty funny too.

V came last, with a plate in his hand and Griffon flapping right beside him.

"I will never look at baked chicken the same way ever again." Griffon muttered, "Like, that dude could be my cousin or something..."

V handed you his plate. You pointed your kitchen knife at the thigh and leg part, asking him which part he wanted. He talked to you to answer Griffon, "Then, I shall be eating your cousin's leg..."

You sliced the legs and put it on his plate. Griffon flew in front of the plate and looked at you, "My, my missy... It's really strange that I don't get scared of you when you slice down a Pyrobat, but I get scared of you when you slice down that chicken. It's like... you're killin' family." You squinted at him, but smiled a little bit afterwards. You handed V his plate, and your smile turned into a nervous wince when his hand (ever so slightly) touched yours.

"I'll be... eating this on my chair." He said, calling Griffon back to his arm, "What about you? Have you eaten already?"

You shrugged and pointed at the remaining chicken thighs on the table. V slowly nodded and turned to leave, "Eat well."

The shop was starting to regain its usual noise. There was laughter now, with the occasional screams, cusses, and you could sometimes hear a gunshot from either Ebony or Ivory. As you took a chicken thigh into your plate, you smirked quite a bit. It was the kind of smile that was both made in comfort and in sadness. You were happy that you met these people. Heck, you were even happier that they counted you as one of their own. You now had people who you'd cook for, who'd eat your food, and tell you it was delicious and that made you extremely happy.

But, you just wish you could tell your mom how happy these people made you. You wish you could describe these people to her and watch her smile and tell you what strange friends you have.

First, there was Lady. She's human, but she also killed her own dad, who was also human but was so evil he'd pass as a demon. Then, there's Trish. She's a demon made to look exactly like Dante's mom, but she likes to remind _everybody _that she isn't anyone's mom. Then, there was Dante: half-human, half-demon but overall badass... or at least he'd like to think that. Then, there's Nero... who is technically a quarter of a demon, given that he's Dante's nephew (of sorts). Nico was the daughter of some asshole Nero knew (but apparently it was Dante who killed him). She ended up joining the team and making all their weapons for them... and she also repairs the jukebox. Then, there's Kyrie, Nero's (for the lack of a better term) girlfriend. She had brown hair and really kind eyes, but she had that all too dainty air about her that you thought if she saw a Baphomet, she'd faint.

Then, there was V.

You still couldn't wrap your head around this fact but V is --- or _technically _was --- Nero's dad. During your last mission together, Dante revealed to Nero that his brother, Vergil, was his dad. And this Vergil person separated his demon self from his human self... And, it just so happens that his human self took the form of V.

Long story short, V wanted to continue living by killing his demon self (named Urizen)... and, in a way, you succeeded. Urizen died, taking the demonic parts of Vergil with him. V remained, assimilating all of Vergil's powers into himself, but retaining his current human form. His memories though were still quite a mess. He remembers things like, and you quote, "Like they were a dream. Something that happened... but not quite." And after the previous mission, the entire team just learned to accept V as himself, and not view him as an extension of the person he came from... although Nero jokingly calls him "dad" to annoy him from time to time.

You still didn't know how they looked at you or how they viewed you, though. Sometimes, you even wonder if they even remembered if you existed. Sometimes, you thought that the reason why you put yourself through so much effort into cooking is because, in your own way, you want to remind them that you still exist. Most days, you felt invisible to them. They wouldn't talk to you unless you tapped them on the shoulder, or they were giving you battle strategies during missions. But on down days like today, you could only expect one person to even try to talk to you first: That was V.

You picked up your chicken plate and moved towards the lobby of the shop where everyone was noisily eating. You had to shake your head and remind yourself that you thought too much sometimes... and that you just had to enjoy the moment and the people you were with.

"...and then, I sliced that demon's head off its neck like it was no problem!" Dante was speaking really loudly, as he recounted what he did during the day.

"Hey, hey, hey! You could only chop that demon's head off because Trish and I were distracting it!" Lady protested with a hand gesture from across the room.

"And, to be honest Dante... You're getting kinda rusty." Trish licked her fingers, "I don't know... your past stay in the underworld might've caused you to get rusty."

"Rusty? I never get rusty!" Dante angrily protested, throwing Trish one of his chicken wings. Trish caught it with her spare hand and started eating it. He grumbled and suddenly noticed you staring at all of them, "Ugh, jeez Knives. Do you think I'm getting rusty?"

You laughed, silently. One, because he called you "Knives" (because everyone called you Knives since you haven't told anyone your name yet), and two, because he asked you a question and you knew he expected you to answer... by talking. You just had to frustrate him one more time when you shook your head and handed him one of your chicken thighs. Then, you moved towards the foot of his desk and sat on the floor.

"Damn it, Knives. When are you ever going to talk?" Dante peered over his desk, "I'm sure everyone wants to know what you sound like."

"Yeah... I've always wondered what you sound like." Lady added, "I mean... I know you aren't mute or anything." She squinted with uncertainty, "...Right?"

You shrugged. To be honest, you also asked yourself why you _really _still didn't feel like talking but you just couldn't find the answer... so, you've kept your words and thoughts to yourself.

"You're not... mad at us, are you?" Trish asked you, slowly and as gently as she could. Your head bolted up and you started shaking it violently. _No! I'm not mad at any of you!_ You even added shaking your hands to emphasize just how mistaken she is.

"If she was mad, Trish, she would've poisoned the chicken." Dante said, laughing. Trish pointed at him and he suddenly kept quiet.

"She's not mad. She's simply..." V started speaking all of a sudden, "...uncertain."

"Huh? About what...?" Lady asked, lopping off the final piece of chicken that clung to the bones on her plate.

"Imagine this: Your mother was killed by a demon, you get adopted into a group made up of a demon..." He pointed at Trish, "...a half-demon..." He pointed at Dante, "...a human demon killer..." He pointed at Lady, "...and has to be colleagues with a quarter-demon, an ex-demon, and a gunsmith who uses demons for parts." He adjusted his weight on his chair, "It is all too much to take in, and yet, here she is... baking chicken for all of you. She must be looking for ways to make sure you know she exists, even if she cannot talk yet."

"_Bingo_ ." You thought.

"Oh..." Lady looked at you like you were a lost puppy stuck in the rain. You just gave her a raised eyebrow and flared nostrils.

"I know I remind you of my presence, Knives..." Dante held the crown of your head and started messing up your hair, "Like this." You swatted his hands away.

"If only you talked though, but... If you're still not ready for it, well..." Trish shrugged her shoulders and stood up. She made her way to the kitchen to put down her plate on the sink.

"Oh, but she _did_ talk today..." V muttered, almost inaudibly to everyone in the room. Dante and Lady stopped eating and Trish stopped walking and turned back at him. You looked at V, with your eyes shot wide open.

_Oh no, oh no, oh no..._

"Did you talk today? When?" Dante moved over the front of his desk and crouched at you. You had to lean back away from him since he was inching his face really close to you... and you found it a bit creepy.

"This late afternoon, while you three were on a mission..." V stood up and made his way towards the both of you. He got a hold of Lady's plate and Dante's plate on his way, "She... whimpered. Twice, in fact."

"SHE WHAT?" All three of them exclaimed. They were all looking at you, waiting to see if you were going to make a sound. You shook your head at them, but you didn't know how to deviate the attention from you to something else without speaking.

"That's great!" Lady said, making her way towards you, "You can start practicing how to speak again! Right?"

You nodded, but you did it just to make them shut up. Dante and Lady were too close to you, it was making you feel uncomfortable. V simply walked passed the three of you huddled together in front of Dante's desk and took the plate in Trish's hands.

"I shall be washing these..." He told Trish. She just handed him her plate and returned to her spot.

  
\-------

It was getting late and you slowly heard the shop go quiet bit by bit as each of the people went to their own places to sleep. Dante, being the owner of the shop, got his own room. Trish and Lady shared a room to themselves, you shared your room with Nico, and Nero and V shared the last room available. It felt a bit nice since the rain started pouring quite a bit outside, and the temperature cooled down quite a bit. The shop might not have any airconditioning, but the rain helped it feel like the unit was working just fine.

You and V were the only two people left who weren't in their rooms. You were stuck in the kitchen, drying up the plates and utensils that V washed, and he was keeping the dishes you dried back into their cabinets. The kitchen wasn't really a big place. It only had space for a table in the middle, a sink, and a stove with an oven in it. There wasn't even enough space for a fridge, so the fridge was left just outside the doorway. Had you been there by yourself, the kitchen would've felt spacious enough to move around... but since you were sharing the space with a man who was 6'2", it felt a bit crowded. (Also worth noting, you felt smaller than you ever intended to feel.)

However... if you were to be honest, no matter how uncomfortable the space was, you were actually thankful that you were stuck there with V and not Dante. Had it been Dante there, he would've --- not only made the stove explode again but --- gotten any and every excuse to pass you by to take a quick squeeze of your butt with "Dante Jr." Of course, you would've threatened him with a knife to the neck and he would've backed off the moment you did, but still you would've prefered not to do any threatening of that kind... even to someone as cheeky as Dante. He was a great guy, just a bit too pervy for your taste. V, on the other hand, was the absolute gentleman. Whenever you'd have to pass by the same area, he'd let you go first. And when you can't reach something, he'd be the one to get it for you and always reply with a "You're welcome" whenever you'd look at him afterwards. Even if his entire upper body was inked down to the last inch, you couldn't help but notice that there was something subtly gentle with him. It was teasing kind of nice... the type of nice that you hoped not everyone could be able to experience. You'd like to delude yourself into thinking that he only did that to you. But of course, you had to remind yourself that you weren't anyone special. You were just a tiny girl who was pretty good with knives.

You looked over at where V was. He was wearing a cotton shirt that looked a bit too big for him, and tight, skinny jeans that hugged his legs just right. As he arranged the plates onto the counter, your eyes dropped a little bit. You wondered what would happen if V did to you what you'd pin Dante's hands for. You wondered if he----

_Slice._

You didn't notice that the kitchen knife you were handling had a part of the steel out of the cloth you were wiping it with. The knive's tip sliced the palm side of your index finger so deeply that blood slowly started to flow from your finger down to your hands.

"Nnnn...!" You grunted in pain as you dropped the knife on the floor. The slight sound of your voice made V turn to you. Upon seeing you clutching your wrist, trying to keep your hand in the air, and seeing the blood on your hands, he rushed towards you with a worried expression. You had your eyes closed and was continuously grunting through your bit lips. You mentally cursed yourself for thinking such perverted thoughts. You immediately thought that there was a god, and god was punishing you for being such a perv.

You slumped to the floor as you saw V crouch beside you. He held your wrist and tried to keep your hand in the air as you steadied yourself against the oven. You were breathing heavily and were thinking about what to do. Should you wash it? Should you wrap it in a towel?

"The bleeding isn't stopping..." V noted. He then looked at you and cocked his head to the side, "Must have been a pretty bad slice for you grunt that loudly."

Your eyes started to tear up, but it wasn't because of the pain. It was due to embarrassment... a shit ton of embarrassment... because for the third time in a span of 24 hours, V has heard you make a sound. You were confused, but you set your confusion to the side for now because you were preoccupied with the pain in your index finger. It was such a small cut, but it was pretty deep. You could see that you clearly cut through the layers of skin you had and the amount of blood you were losing was making you pale.

"Oh, no, no... That wouldn't do." V shook his head as he noticed you looking at your finger in horror. Without warning, he placed your index finger in his mouth and started sucking all the blood out. His mouth was warm and his tongue was really soft. You could feel his tongue on the tip of your finger as he rubbed it on your wound, trying to see (or taste, maybe) if there was any blood left. With a pop, he released your finger from his lips and looked back at you.

He laughed, "You were white before I did that... and now, you're redder than an apple."

It was only now that you noticed how silent the world has become. The rain has stopped pattering on the kitchen window, the lights were flickering ever so slightly, the night owls were hooting somewhere in the distance, and you could hear your heartbeat through your ears. You could also hear V's breathing as if you were laying directly on his chest.

You must've been staring at him for quite some time because, without letting go of your wrist, he stood up, bringing you on your feet along with him. He practically dragged you into his room on the upstairs level of the shop. He only let go of your hands when he gestured towards the edge of his bed.

"Sit." He commanded as he looked into the bathroom cabinet for a first aid kit. You took a seat on the bed, your hand clutched close to your chest, and looked around. It was a plain looking room. Most of the items there were Nero's, you could tell. There were pictures of Nero and Kyrie near the side of the bed you were seated on. In the drawer beside the bed that was left ajar, you could see a spare Devil Breaker just laying around. The mainly brick red walls of the room didn't really make the room feel any less welcoming, but somehow, Nico's post-its that she's left for Nero made the room pretty cozy. You felt a bit sad that you couldn't see anything that V owned in this room. He kept wearing the same clothes, so you thought he probably just kept it in a box hidden somewhere. And all his books were downstairs in the bookshelf he just bought.

V returned with a small box with a red cross mark on it. He sat beside you and grabbed your wounded hand. He put a bit of the wound solution on a cotton pad and before he dabbed it onto your finger, he warned you.

"This might hurt quite a bit..."

You nodded and signaled him to start. At the first dab of the cotton, a spreading sting enveloped your entire hand. You released a pretty loud grunt one more time.

"Careful, now... I might dab this a little harder the next time just to hear you make sounds like that." He teased you. You hit his arm, trying to tell him to stop teasing. He caught your hint and started dabbing the cotton pad gently. When he was done, he brought your finger close to his lip and started blowing on the cut. There was something about the night, the unlit room, and the way he was blowing on your finger that made your internal body temperature rise to your head. Your thoughts were starting to become a muddled piece of mush and the only thing you could focus on were V... and his pink, luscious lips.

You gulped nervously. You didn't like where your thoughts were taking you, and yet you couldn't help yourself from being dragged into the tidal waves of emotion this tiny gesture was bringing you. You wanted V to do more... that was the honest truth, but... but...

V wrapped your finger in a bandage made up of cotton, gauze, and medical tape. It was a bit messy, but given the darkness of the room, you understood. He handed you back your bandaged hand and asked if you were okay now. You nodded, signaling that you were okay. You lifted up your bandaged finger, pointed at it, and nodded again.

"Welcome." He replied.

Before your thoughts could go wild again, you stood up and started to make your way out of the room, but V's voice stopped you.

"I wonder what thoughts you were having..." He stood up from the bed as you turned to face him, "that made you wound yourself so carelessly."

You blinked at him. You didn't want to admit that you were thinking of him... and you were thinking of things you'd want to do with him. You didn't want to, and besides, you couldn't. You didn't even know how to get your tongue moving to start to even explain it to him. Your cheeks flushed a bright red as he inched closer towards you. You back was against a wall and V finally put an arm beside your head, pinning your form against the cold concrete. You could smell darjeeling tea and oranges wafting towards you once again, filling your senses and overwhelming them.

"I wonder if you could _tell_ me..." V said, almost with a purr.

You shifted your position, trying to stick your body closer to the wall. V inched closer, his face lowered to where yours were, his breath clouding your mind even further. This was too much. Absolutely more than you can take. He continued to draw closer to you as your breathing slowed. You could feel the tip of his lips on yours until...

"Dang it, Nero! I let you drive the van ONE. TIME." Nico's accented voice rang through the shop as a pair of thumping footsteps entered the area. You and V decided to jump away from each other as you were both surprised by them coming back in so late.

"I know, I know. We'll fix the van as soon as we get some sleep." Nero replied, exasperated.

You immediately left the room and went back to the kitchen to tidy up the remaining utensils. You hastily waved at Nero who passed you by the stairs. You didn't even bother to see if he waved back at you. Nero just looked at you funnily and continued walking towards his room. At the door, he saw V standing there, looking at your disappearing image from the stairs.

"Uh, V... What are you doing, still up?" Nero asked V.

"I was trying to see if I could get Knives to talk..." V muttered, "But, I ended up getting more than I bargained for."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Here's the second chapter! I kind of hoped to give everyone a shot at getting "Knives" (aka reader) to talk, but as I wrote this down, it didn't really seem like it was kind of in character. So, I decided to give everyone a shot at dialogue, and checked to see whether or not reader would make a sound because of it. It was quite a fun and torturous experience. HAHAHAHA
> 
> Also... what did you think about that last part? We're slowly ~slooooowly~ getting into that nsfw section but JUST WAIT. There's more story coming, so sit back, relax, and wait for Chapter Three.
> 
> Hope you all liked this one. I appreciate the kudos and comments you all leave. This is my first fanfic in a VERY long time, so you have no idea how much your words mean to me. 
> 
> Wuvs and cuddles! <3


	3. Written

The first rays of the early morning sun started to peek at the horizon. The sky was starting to turn from a soft purple to a powder blue. The clock read six o'clock and your eyes were starting to open for the day.

Yesterday's events flooded your mind as soon as you had your wits about you and it made you cover your face with your blanket. You hoped that your feelings of embarrassment would leave you as soon as you woke up, but apparently, they wanted to stay... and they made sure you knew it. Your finger, now wrapped in gauze, was throbbing quite a bit. It was a physical reminder that you didn't just dream up an entire day. With a sharp exhale, you sat up on your bed. A quick look at the empty bed in the other side of the room let you know that Nico was either already up or hasn't even slept yet. You decided to make your bed, change your clothes, wash your face, and head downstairs to make coffee.

As soon as you were done with making two cups (coffee and sugar for you, and coffee, cream, and a ton of sugar, for Nico) you held both of them in each hand and headed for the garage. True enough, you saw Nico's legs peeking under the van. She was fixing something from under there, and as you weren't a mechanic, you had no idea what she was doing. It was fun watching her tinker with the Minotaurus, though. You also loved how she'd babble about random stuff. Out of all the women in the house, you liked Nico the best. You liked her no-nonsense attitude and her really sharp wit, and the fact that she thinks that everything she makes is a work of art. You'd actually agree with her because every time both of you cook dinner for the gang, everybody ends up in a food coma.

The jukebox from inside the van was playing and you could hear Nico singing along, albeit a bit off-key. You tapped the van with your foot to catch her attention. She then slid out of the van and greeted you with a smile.

"Hey there, little missy." Nico chirped, a cigarette already lit and perched on her lips. You handed her the cup of coffee you prepared. She looked at it, "Milk and shit ton of sugar?" You nodded, "Wow! This is exactly what I needed."

You two sat together on a table by the wall. The light was starting to intensify through the door, but the metal shutters were halfway down so the sunlight didn't hurt your eyes. The weather was still a bit chilly, so you held your cup with two hands and shrunk inside your oversized sweater to maintain some heat. You had no idea how Nico was enduring the cold weather. She still had her white crop top on and her extremely short shorts, but then again, if you had legs like Nico's you wouldn't even be bothered to hide them either.

"So, what happened yesterday?" Nico said after puffing on her cigarette. You looked at her and cranked your head to the side. She playfully hit your shoulder and said, "Oh, you know... _yesterday_. We weren't here, remember? Had to ferry lover boy Nero to see his fair Juliet, Kyrie."

You really didn't know how to explain to Nico the things that happened yesterday. You couldn't even make sense of it yourself. You gave a sad sigh and looked down on your dangling feet. You extended your injured finger, no longer throbbing but a dull pain still rang through the bone.

"Dante didn't call you small but terrible again, did he?" Nico asked you upon noticing you sigh. You sharply looked at her and shook your head violently. Then, you rolled your eyes to the side and started shaking your hand. You wanted to tell her that wasn't it.

"So what happened?" Nico asked again, in a tone of voice that oozed with curiosity and, at the same time, uncertainty, "'Cause I just saw you dashin' into the kitchen last night after Nero and I came home. You didn't even wave at me... I could imagine that _something_ happened."

"No shit, Sherlock. I know something happened..." A voice rang behind you. It was a strong, husky voice that still had a lot of youth in it. You turned around to see Nero standing by the door from the shop. He had his own cup of coffee (all black, straight out of the coffee maker) in his hands. He made his way towards the table you were on and took a seat beside you. You found yourself sandwiched between these two tall people, and as much as that would've made you feel uncomfortable... it actually didn't. Nero and Nico's ages were closer to yours and you felt like you could always express how you feel to them, and they'd understand.

"Well, mornin' to ya Nero." Nico said, giving him a fist bump after he sat down.

Nero looked at your injured finger and pointed at it, "It's kind of funny how the girl in charge of knives in battle gets cut by a kitchen knife."

Nico noticed your injured finger for the first time and grabbed your hand, "Oh, wow. You really _did _cut yourself..." You had to snatch your hand back from her. You had to agree with Nero. It was kind of funny (and kind of stupid, to be honest) that the knife girl would accidentally cut herself with a knife. You just knew they were going to ask you to explain yourself and you being unable to talk, will be left answering a long list of yes-or-no questions.

"Wait... how'd you know how she cut herself?" Nico looked at Nero, who was taking a sip of coffee. She used her cigarette to point, you had to move your mug away because the ashes would fall in it if you didn't.

"V told me about it last night." He mentioned, "After your speed run to the kitchen." He stared at you. For some weird reason, you felt your cheeks flush with blood as you blushed a bright red again. The faint memory of the scent of darjeeling tea seemed to elicit that kind of bodily reaction in you.

"So..." Nico inched closer to Nero, moving you closer to him in the process, "What happened...?"

"According to V, Knives was wiping down the knives after dinner and she cut herself. He saw what happened so he patched her up." Nero said. Nico was going to say something but Nero intervened, "And before you ask: Yes, V was with her in the kitchen. That's why he saw what happened."

"Hmmm..." Nico put a new cigarette on her lips and lit it. She took one puff of it and started speaking, "I don't think Knives, our little mistress of slicin' and dicin', could ever cut herself by accident. So, it's either you did it on purpose --- although I don't know why you would --- or it really did happen by accident and the world is just effin' with you. Which is it?"

Nero defended you, "She absolutely didn't do it on purpose..." He jumped off the table and walked in front of the two of you.

Nico took her last gulp of coffee and jumped down as well, "Oh? And how would you know?"

"Oh, just call it a man's instincts..." Nero lifted his hands in the air as a gesture of exasperation, "I can't explain it... I just know."

"Well, in that case, Knives had an accident then..." Nico turned to you, "But what were you thinking about that made you make such a stupid mistake?"

_Oh, shit. Here we go._

You didn't know how to explain yourself. You weren't even sure if you _wanted _to. You knew that the only reason why you had the accident was because your thoughts drifted over to the dark and pervy side, and you didn't exactly know the proper hand gesture to explain that. Looking at Nero and Nico's facial expressions though, you had to admit to yourself that these two weren't going to let you go so easily. And besides, you comforted yourself with the thought that they've seen the insides of a demon. The insides of your thoughts shouldn't be that freaky. Unfortunately, no matter how much you want to confess what your thoughts were, the problem remains: You still didn't really know how to start talking.

"This would be a lot easier if you could talk, you know." Nero said, placing a hand on your shoulder. You shrugged with a defeated look on your face.

"Wait a second..." Nico said. She pounded her fist onto her open palm and after a second, she rushed into the van. After a minute or so, she came jogging out of it, carrying a pen and a notepad in her hand. She then handed the pen and paper to you. She proceeded to hit her forehead with her palm as you put your empty coffee cup to the side.

"I don't know why it took us months before we thought of this! And I sort of feel kinda stupid for only thinkin' of this now." Nico said, "But, if you can't speak up, and least you can write what you're thinkin', right?"

You gave her an uncertain thumbs up. You might've been selectively mute, but you did have a way with words. A childish way, but a way nonetheless. Still, this was all too new. You realized right then that you haven't really shared your thoughts with anyone for a long time. You found out that you really weren't ashamed of your words or how you spoke... you were apprehensive of what people thought of you if they knew what you were thinking.

Still, with the pen and paper in your hands, you knew you had to try... at least with Nico and Nero. Nico was like a sister to you and Nero cared in his own brutish way. You felt like it was about time they knew what you were thinking. You knew they wouldn't judge you.

You inhaled, and as you exhaled, you wrote down this sentence onto the paper:

_What do you want to know?_

The two of them read your writing for a second. Nero finally commented, "Wow, the rumors were true. You really do have nice handwriting."

"Yeah..." Nico said, equally dumbfounded, "But, anyway! First question, what sent you dashing into the kitchen last night?"

The answer there was short. Just two strokes of your pen:

_V_.

"He did tell me that he was trying to get you to talk." Nero rubbed his chin, eyes to the ground, "But I don't see how that would make you run to the kitchen. I mean, I think _everyone_ tries to get you to talk almost every day."

You bit your lip. You knew what you wanted to say, but the embarrassment of the fact still remained in your mind. You gripped the pen tight and slowly started writing:

_V tried to kiss me._

You wrote it in such tiny letters that Nico and Nero had to stand forehead to forehead just to see what you wrote down. When they read and understood what you said, Nico's jaw dropped and Nero's eyes practically popped out of his head in shock.

"He what?!" Nero finally exclaimed. He grabbed his own hair and started pacing, "I didn't know he had it in him. I know he's technically my dad, but shit... This is mind blowing."

"So, you ran to the kitchen because...?" Nico squinted at you. Nero was still blabbering to himself at the background. You breathed deeply and moved the pen:

_You guys came home just before he could kiss me. I ran to the kitchen to avoid further embarrassment._

"...so that's what he meant when he said he got more than he bargained for!" Nero screamed from somewhere from across the room. He immediately rushed to where you were seated, and asked you, "Knives... about that kiss. Tell me the truth: Did you want it or nah?"

You gulped. You felt your face become hotter and your eyes open a whole lot wider. You were so ashamed of yourself, but you knew Nero wasn't going to let you go if you didn't tell him the truth.

"Nnn..." You grunted, with a nod. You felt like they deserved to hear it from you, even if all you could say was a single letter. You wanted to be fully honest, and you didn't want any written evidence of you saying you wanted V to kiss you just laying around for people to find. You knew they were shocked to hear you say the "n" sound, but you knew that them finding out that you actually _wanted_ to be kissed is actually a bigger deal.

"Hold up, hold up..." It was Nico this time who exhaled sharply, "Do you mean to say that you..." She leaned closer to you, "..._like_ V? Like in a _I like you, let me give you my clam chowder_ kind of way?"

You had to hide your face in your hands. You knew how red you were getting. But that gesture was enough for the two of them to get the hint.

"Oh damn..." Nico muttered as he nudged Nero, "We gotta do something about this, man."

"Dude, revive Malphas and order me to kill that bitch again, and I'll do it..." Nero said, "But this...? I have no clue how to even start..." He gestured to you. All 5 feet and 2 inches of you.

"Hey! Why are you gesturin' to my little fluffy Empusa killer here?" Nico sat beside you and grabbed your head and patted it, like you were some kitten that she wanted to protect. She smelled of cigarettes and coffee, and you liked it... weirdly.

"First of all, I have no idea how to do the whole 'romance' thing. I mean, you've seen how it took an entire demon invasion for me to even remotely tell Kyrie I like her." Nero explained, "Secondly, V is technically my _father_. I mean, Vergil is... but like, he's V now. And if Knives gets into a relationship with V, I think that technically makes Knives my sort-of-stepmom."

"Ew, you're right..." Nico grimaced, "Damn, if only Kyrie was here. She'd probably be the only person who'd know what to do..."

"Know what to do about what...?" A voice rang from the door. Nico and Nero turned with a jump. You were the only one who didn't turn to look because you knew exactly who was talking. That dark, soft, and raspy voice could only belong to one person inside this whole shop.

It was V. He stood there with his hands crossed in front of his chest, his cane pressed between his bicep and his side. He was looking at all of you with silent intent. You could feel him staring at you a bit longer than he did with Nico and Nero. You closed your eyes and turned your head towards the metal shutters. You didn't feel like you could meet his stare after what happened last night.

"Um..." Nico stuttered, "What to do about our boy Nero!" She said, slapping Nero's shoulder, "Ya know! Our lover boy here is missin' Kyrie and all that good stuff."

"There's always the phone..." V answered stoically, his cane now pointing to the direction of the phone on Dante's desk.

"Right! Right!" Nico said, a bit louder than she should've, "Come on, Nero. Let's call your Kyrie. You know you wanna hear her voice, right?" Nico dragged Nero out of the garage into the shop, leaving you alone and seated on the table.

You sighed. You found yourself in silence again, but this time, you felt uneasy. Now, two other people know about your feelings for V, but just like you, they didn't know what to do. Also, you knew that there was some truth to what Nero was saying. You getting into a relationship with V would technically make you his stepmom. That would be weird since you were two years younger than him. In fact, you were the youngest in the group. It would be _extremely_ weird.

"Dante went out and got us some breakfast." V's voice rang through the silence. It was soft and husky, but you didn't know why it made you wince. The sound of a few footsteps and the sound of his cane tapping on the floor started drawing closer and closer to where you were. You kept your eyes glued to the floor, your feet dangling over the edge. It didn't take long before you saw another pair of feet before you. You knew you liked him... probably even more than you've ever liked anyone before. However, you really didn't have the heart to look at him in the eye. You were too shy... too embarrassed... You didn't even know why.

Thin, long, white fingers gently took a hold of your injured index finger. His hands were quite warm and calloused, probably from holding onto that cane and stabbing demons with it. He held your hand like it was porcelain... like he was holding something he was scared of breaking.

"How's your hand?" He asked you, without letting go of your hand. Without looking up, you started scribbling on a different page on the notepad on your lap:

_It's fine. Thanks for asking._

"Oh, I see you've finally found a way to communicate." V said. You didn't look at him, but you could tell he was smirking a tiny bit, "I'd usually tell you 'you're welcome'... unfortunately, that's not what I'm going to say."

You kept your head down and stayed silent. You dangled your head from side to side in an uncertain gesture.

V spoke as he slowly put down your hand back to your side. He laid his free hand on it for a while before letting go. Then, he started to apologize, "I'm sorry... for last night."

_Huh?_ Your head slowly looked up to now see V looking to the side. He was pale as snow, but you could see he had faint dark circles under his eyes. Before you could observe any further, he started to move back into the shop. He stopped by the door and turned to you, "Make haste... or else, we'll run out of bagels."

\----------

Breakfast around the shop was a bit quieter than usual. The clock already read ten o'clock but still, it seemed to you that not everyone was already wide awake. Lady was seated by the shop door, munching on her bagel while she had her eyes closed. She looked like she was sleep eating. Trish was dunking her bagel in her morning coffee, her hair in a messy bun. Dante held a bagel in each hand and was munching on them in turns. He seemed more awake than all of you combined. Nico and Nero were eating and talking among themselves in the kitchen. V was seated in his reading chair with his book and his cup of coffee, with Griffon out and about pecking at his feathers and Shadow lazily looking at everyone in the room while laying down near his feet. You didn't really feel like eating, so you simply got yourself another cup of coffee and went back to your room. No one was talking to each other. You thought to yourself that it might take an hour or more in order for someone to start talking. Until then, you wanted to keep to yourself as much as you could.

You crawled onto your bed, making sure to not spill a single drop of coffee onto your sheets. Your bed was beside the window, so you immediately turned your entire body to face that opening. Although you could see the part of the roof of the building next to the shop, you could also see the bright, blue sky. Looking at the sky gave you comfort sometimes. Comfort was what you needed, you thought, especially after what happened yesterday.

You thought about how Lady, Trish, and Dante would often try to get you to speak. They've tried to shock you, shoot you, slice you, coax you, or even threaten you into speaking... but you just never really felt like muttering a single sound. You were as silent as silence gets. However, your thoughts right now drifted you farther into the past... a time frame you rarely got to think about anymore. You thought about your hometown, its green fields, tall mountains, and cool summer breeze. You thought about how you could see the ocean from your old room in the old house you lived in... with your mother.

\----------

_It was bright and early, but you didn't feel like getting up. You opened your eyes, grunted, and sulked on your bed under your comforter. You grunted with a great deal of annoyance under your breath. Then, someone snatched your comforter from your body and tossed it to the side._

_"You know, little bird, you could lay there all day... but there won't be any breakfast for you if you do." That cheery, youthful voice belonged to your mother. She got pregnant with you when she was just a teenager, so a lot of people mistook her for your older sister. You didn't know who or where your dad was, but you really didn't care. You thought that if he wanted to be with you, he had eighteen years to do so. But since you're all grown up now, you know you could survive without a dad... especially since your mom was so awesome at fulfilling both roles._

_You sat up on your bed, the pink walls looking old and faded to you as you looked at it. The birds were chirping outside and you hummed along with it as you stretched. With a huff, you looked at your mom, "So... what are we having for breakfast?"_

_"Your favorite." She whispered, "Pancakes with fresh blueberries."_

_"Ah yeah!" You practically jumped off of bed. You wrapped your bathrobe around you, headed for the bathroom, and washed your face. After that, you went down to your kitchen, that also doubled as your dining area. The pancakes were still steaming hot on your plate, and you had a bowl of fresh blueberries waiting right beside it._

_"There's my little bird!" Your mom greeted you with a smile as she kissed your forehead. You took a seat and poured a glass of orange juice for the both of you. You waited for your mother to sit down before helping yourself to your first fork full of pancake._

_"So... what are your plans for today?" She asked you. You simply shrugged as you were chewing the blueberries your just put in your mouth, "Will you be going out with your friends? Will you stay home? What?" You just shrugged again as you swallowed._

_"Maybe you could help me out in the shop, then? You know I need help with the inventory." She said. The shop was your mom's business. She sold kitchen equipment and cooking utensils at a shop in town. You always loved the knives section, even as a child. You loved the ones made from ornate silver, sturdy aluminum steel, and the ones with simple wooden handles. Your mother always told you to stay away from the knives because they were sharp and you could hurt yourself, but getting cut by them never really stopped you from handling and playing with them._

_"Hmm... sounds fine." You answered, taking a large gulp of orange juice from the glass._

_"You know, I've always wondered..." Your mother leaned forward, pointing her fork towards you, "...how come you never really talk a lot. I mean, I'm pretty talkative. Also, I never really see you speak more than you need to to anyone outside of the house, so..."_

_"Dunno... must've come from my dad." You munched on your next bite of pancake, "Whoever he is."_

_"Eh, you must be right. But, after eighteen years of never seeing or thinking of him, I've actually forgotten if he was the talkative type or not..." Your mother shrugged. She had very bright eyes that often sparkled in the sunlight. She always looked like she was about to laugh at something. Her hair was tied in a knot resting on top of her head. You could see yourself growing old and looking exactly like your mother, and it really wasn't a bad thought to think about. Your mother continued, "However, I want to tell you a secret."_

_"Huh?" You looked at her, a question lingering in your stare._

_"I actually like that you don't talk a lot, at least to other people. It makes me feel like we're the only two people in the world who understand each other." Your mother smiled at you. You smiled at her back. She said, "But still... I know someday, you'll be able to talk more with people. Or maybe, just with one other person..."_

_"And who might that person be?" You asked her, with a raised eyebrow._

_"Of course it's going to be with the man you'll love, silly!" Your mother laughed, "You're already eighteen. You're supposed to be out there, looking for love and all that good stuff. You'll find him soon, I know it."_

_You just raised your eyebrow even higher. Your mother was starting to sound crazy. Optimistic, yes, but crazy. You were just eighteen. All you wanted to do was to go find yourself. You can find a man later, as far as you were concerned._

_"That man..." Your mother hummed almost melodically, "I'm pretty sure he's gonna be quite the gentleman. He's going to take such good care of you, little bird. And you..." She munched on her pancake, "You will finally be able to tell him everything that goes on in that little head of yours."_

_"What makes you think I'd want to?" You asked her._

_"Oh, trust me... you'd want to. You'd love him, so you'd trust him with all those little secrets in your head." Your mother stood up from the table, and brought her dishes to the sink._

\----------

It's been seven years since that day happened. That was the morning of the attack. You still remembered everything so clearly. You and your mother went to the shop at noontime to tally the stocks for the day. In the evening, before you closed up, people started screaming and fires started burning in the town. Demons started coming out of nowhere. The both of you were stuck in the shop, so your mother gave you a knife and made you hide inside a cabinet that was barely big enough to fit you while she looked for a way out. As she closed the door, a large demon appeared behind her and stabbed her through her stomach and pinned her to the cabinet door you were hiding in. You couldn't even scream because you were so scared to give your location away. Through the cabinet door that was barely open, you saw the demon slice your mother open and dunk its head into her stomach, pulling at her intestines. You remembered blacking out after that.

"Hey, Knives! Dante was askin' if---" Nico suddenly barged into the room to see you sulking on your bed. She suddenly stopped, "Are you okay, pumpkin?"

Something cold trailed down your cheek. You brought your gauzed finger to it and realized that it was a tear. Unconsciously, you were crying.

"Hey, you alright?" Nico walked closer to you. You continuously wiped your face with your hands, and sharply nodded. You were fine, you just needed a moment to collect yourself. Nico sighed, "Well, anyway. Dante was askin' if you're gonna cook dinner later. 'Cause if you are, we'd have to take a slight drive to the market. The fridge is empty..."

You nodded. You got the notepad she gave you and started writing: _Yes, I'm cooking later. Let's go to the market around lunchtime._

"You got it, little missy." Nico gave you a salute, and headed back out. You decided it was probably best to move your butt from your bed and head on downstairs with her.

The shop did a full 180-degree turn. It was so noisy now... Full of life and full of energy. Nero and Dante were arguing about something quite loudly, while Trish and Lady had their weapons laid out on the floor and were giving them a cleaning. Nico decided it was time for her to go back to work in the garage.  
Only V remained where he was before you left the room... only this time, he wasn't reading a book. He held a piece of paper in his hands, his book closed on his lap. Griffon and Shadow were on and beside the bookshelf, respectively. As soon as Shadow saw you, he immediately rose up and went to your legs and started rubbing off of them.

"Ya know, that's actually the first time I've ever seen him do that..." Griffon turned to face you, "He's acting like a giant kitten." V, hearing Griffon talking and noticing Shadow's absence, peeked at you from over the sheet of paper he was reading. Shadow stopped rubbing off of your legs and laid down in front of you, belly up. He was waiting for you to rub his belly for him, an obvious gesture of trust. You knew that Shadow was a demonic familiar, but right now, he looked like a giant, fluffy cat, made up of dark clouds and smoke. You giggled a little and knelt to rub him on his belly. You heard Dante and Nero stop arguing and Nero commented on what you were doing.

"Woah!" Nero said, with a smile, "He actually wants belly rubs!" He crouched down to touch Shadow, but Shadow immediately recoiled his belly and walked away from Nero. Nero shot it a confused and slightly pissed off look while you gave him a pat on his shoulders. V immediately made Griffon and Shadow return to him, cleared his throat, and continued on reading.

"Well, so much for having a pet in this shop, huh?" Dante said, walking towards you and Nero. He stood between the both of you and grappled your heads under his arms.

"Don't Trish and Lady count?" Nero asked, jokingly. Lady heard this and threw a towel at Nero's head while giving him the finger.

"I don't know. None of them has tried to dry hump my leg yet." Dante let go of the both of you. Trish gave Dante the death glare this time, to which Dante bowed like he just finished acting in a play. Nero just stood there beside you and looked at Dante with a disgusted look on his face. Dante scoffed at him and looked directly at you instead, "Well, anyway! Knives, have you made any _sounds_ today?"

You shook your head, looking at him in a puzzled way. Before you could even reach for the notepad in your pocket, Dante went for the cowboy hat on his desk and wore it, "Would you start to talk if I---" He rushed to the jukebox and started playing Michael Jackson's Billie Jean, "---did this?"

Just like that, the lobby of the shop turned into Dante's dance floor. Nero put his hands on his hips, shook his head and looked away. Trish was whispering "what the fuck" under her breath. Lady had that look on her face as if she was looking at someone's vomit or something. V wasn't even looking. He looked at his book, although you noticed he was raising it a bit higher than he used to. You were looking from side to side, observing everyone with a bit of horror and confusion. You had to admit, Dante was a pretty good dancer, but he danced like an old man... an old man pretending to be Michael Jackson, that is.

The music stopped and Dante posed like it was nobody's business, then he turned to you and asked, "How'd you like that, huh?"

You gave him two thumbs up with a weird, hesitant smile. He snapped his fingers and went, "Well, I tried to get you to talk..."

"Hey, show him the notepad..." Nero nudged you with his elbow. You dug your pockets for the notepad and started writing: _You don't need to dance to get me to talk. I can talk just fine right here. _You then flashed what you wrote to Dante. He grabbed the notepad and read.

"Well, shit. Who would've thought you could write your thoughts down...?" Dante said. Trish and Lady were curious so they approached Dante and looked at the notepad as well. Nico, just in time to watch the notepad reveal happen, cleared her throat after lighting a cigarette.

"Well, you guys were too busy using your brains to shoot guns. You didn't have any space in there to think about how she can express her thoughts aside from opening her mouth and making a sound." Nico puffed.

"Oh, right..." Lady mumbled. You could tell she didn't want to admit that she was also as trigger happy as Nico said they were, but the mere fact that you had to stay with them for months and no one thought that you could write your thoughts down was kind of pointing to the fact that she was.

"That's good, then. You can now tell us if you need something, Knives." Trish handed the notepad back to you, "If Dante annoys you again, you can just hit him in the head with this." You laughed, and immediately tried to hit Dante in the head, tiptoeing just to reach it.

"I really want to hear you speak, though..." Lady mumbled under her breath. You just gave her a sorry wince.

"Well, don't we all..." a voice spoke behind you. No one noticed V stand up from his chair to join the conversation. In fact, you were only noticing it now but they were all around you in a circle. You sort of felt like a human sacrifice or something. Nico saved the day when she started speaking.

"Well, it's lunchtime. I told Knives here that I'll take her to the market. Anyone wanna come with?"

Trish and Lady begged off. They said they had something to do. Dante said he had to stay in the shop just in case a job offer comes in. Nero joined you, saying that he'd help you carry the things you buy in the market. You three were about the head out when...

"I'll go, too..." V said, slowly catching up to the three of you.

"Suit yourself, Shakespeare." Nico said, grabbing the keys of the van by the door.

\----------

The marketplace felt a bit relaxed today. There weren't a lot of people around, but the shops have just been fully stocked. You and Nico went to buy things to stock up the shop fridge. As you and Nico went from shop to shop, V and Nero stood near the van, eyes following you and Nico as you darted around. Nero couldn't help but nudge V, and as soon as he got his attention, Nero decided to nod towards your direction.

"So..." Nero put his hands in his pocket, "What was that all about?"

"What was what all about?" V asked him, arms crossed on his chest, cane carefully tucked under an arm.

"Last night, you told me you got more than what you bargained for, but didn't really elaborate. But this morning, after Nico gave Knives the notepad, she told us what you did last night."

"...which was?" V said, feigning ignorance.

"Dude." Nero peeled his back from the van and looked V in the face, "You tried to kiss Knives."

"So what if I did?" V said, trying his best to hide the fact that his alabaster skin was starting to show hints of pale red on his cheeks.

"Dammit, V." Nero practically growled at him, "You know it isn't nice to play with her feelings like that."

"I wasn't..." V tried to look at Nero in the eye, but failed. He ended up looking at the pavement instead, "...playing with her feelings."

"Then, what _were_ you doing?" Nero crossed his hands on his chest, a stern look on his face.

V took a long pause. He looked at you smiling in the distance behind the window of a bread shop. Your eyes sparkled as you laughed, but there was a mist of anxiety and sadness lingering silently behind them as well. You had a very childish and innocent way about you, but whenever he'd see you in battle, that childish innocence turns into a silent rage that scared even him. He has never seen anyone so drastically erratic and yet, with you, he realized that he has found the most peace. Whenever you'd fight together, he'd find himself internally thanking the greater powers that were that you were on his side, not because you were excellent with your knives, but because he really didn't know what he'd do without you. Now, however, even if you weren't in battle, he found himself hanging onto every single thing you do. He also found himself extremely curious as to what you sounded like, but... deep down inside, he knew he'd be quite satisfied if he heard you say just one thing.

"Hey, V." Nero tapped him on the shoulder. When he wasn't responding, Nero shouted, "Dad!" V suddenly shot him a look behind his fringe.

"What _were_ you doing?" Nero repeated his question, slowly and with emphasis on each word, "Tell me, for fuck's sake."

V looked from side to side, then stared Nero in the eyes. He leaned forward, bringing his cane before him and holding it with both hands. In an uncertain whisper, he told Nero. V looked at you again. You were laughing with Nico, but for a split second your eyes met. In that moment, you lowered your eyes but a slight grin still hung onto your lips. V exhaled and started saying:

"I was trying to find out..." V paused, "If _I_ liked Knives..."

"And...?" Nero questioned him intensely, "Do you...?"

"I think..." V hesitantly admitted, "I do."

Nero's eyes were now wide open. He leaned back into the van and breathed deeply, "Well, holy shit."

"Holy shit is correct..." V agreed, feeling defeated in his admission.

"Dude, you gotta tell her." Nero said, pointing at you at a distance, "Something tells me that she's just waiting for you to do so."

"I curse my stars in bitter grief and woe," V stared reciting, "That made my love so high... and me so low."

"Dude, stop quoting William Blake." Nero grimaced at V, "It's unsettling."

V just shot Nero a dirty stare. Nico headed towards the van to call Nero over to help with the bags. As Nero vanished with Nico, V was left wondering how he'd deal with what he felt. He, as V, was only a few months old. All of his older memories technically weren't his. He, as V, has never really liked anyone before. He had an idea of what that might feel like, but with one look from you, he was suddenly uncertain if what he knew was actually true. They said that when you liked someone, your heart will cause a riot from under your ribs, causing your lungs to breathe as if they were going to explode... but that wasn't the case with you. Whenever V saw you, he saw silence, peace, someone who could protect him, and someone he could protect. This entire world was a rushing waterfall, ever moving, perpetually rushing, and always noisy. You were the quiet lake that that world was going to. He loved the peace that lake brought... and he was almost sure that he could say that he loved you, too.

If only he wasn't so uncertain and ignorant.

Nico and Nero came back to the van with the bags in tow. You were carrying your own set of bags. V suddenly got his back off of the van, rushed to you, and took the bags away from your hands. You were dumbfounded at what he did as you looked at Nico and Nero, trying to see if they saw what happened. Nico climbed down and headed for the driver's seat.

"Alright. I think we're done!" Nico chirped as she climbed onto her seat, "Let's go back and get dinner started."

Nero rushed to ride shotgun, so you and V had to make do with riding at the back of the van. You usually wouldn't have minded, but you didn't really want to be stuck with V in a place that tiny. Unbeknownst to you, V was feeling equally uncomfortable. It took Nico thirty minutes to get to the market from the shop, but since traffic increased going back, she said that it might take you all a bit longer to get back to the shop.

"Well, let's listen to some music to loosen up the mood here!" Nero said. He immediately rushed to the jukebox inside the van. You, who were sitting close to the jukebox looked at him funnily. You could tell he was trying to do something. You then looked at V who was reading on the van couch, not looking at anyone. With a click, the jukebox started playing a punk pop song... the exact type of song Nero would actually like to listen to. He then went back to his chair while playing air guitar.

_One song about a girl_  
_Can't breathe when I'm around her_  
_I'll wait here every day_  
_In case she'll scratch the surface_  
_She'll never notice_  
_I'm not in love_  
_This is not my heart_  
_I'm not gonna waste these words_  
_about a girl_

You sank into your chair and listened to the song. It had a cheery melody but the lyrics were a bit sad. You looked outside the window and noticed the clouds were getting dark again. You thought it might rain.

V, on the other hand, listened to the song as well... feeling every sting the lyrics had to offer. He looked at you, sadly looking outside the window. He was still very confused as to what this feeling is and what to do about it.

_Last night I knew what to say_  
_But you weren't there to hear it_  
_These lines: so well rehearsed_  
_Tongue-tied and overloaded_  
_You never noticed_  
_I'm not in love_  
_This is not my heart_  
_I'm not gonna waste these words_  
_About a girl_

Silent as the night, V got up from the couch and took a seat in front of you. You looked at him, silently questioning his decision to move... but he remained silent as well. He opened his book and pretended to start reading. You looked at the window again, resting your face on your open palm. Your elbow resting against the table in front of you. Your left hand, with a gauzed finger, laid lazily in front of you. V gulped as he slowly raised his free arm onto the table. Then, slowly he reached for your hand, touching it gently. He was worried that you would snatch it away or you'd be shocked at his gesture but, aside from the initial jump you did upon feeling his hand on yours, you didn't retract your hand. You let him hold your hand as you continued to look outside.

The first drops of rain started to pit-pat on the window. And the song drifted on as you both listened in silence.

_To be loved, to be loved_  
_What more could you ask for?_  
_To be loved, to be loved_  
_Everyone wants to be loved_  
_To be loved_  
_What more could you ask for_  
_To be loved, to be loved_  
_Everyone..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waaaahhh~~~ I had so much difficulty writing this chapter since I took all of your suggestions and tried to fit them all in. And, as you can see, it was NICO who (technically) succeeded in getting Knives to talk. She's still not talking but at least she has her handy dandy notepad to help her express her feelings. XD
> 
> Also, you have a quick backstory as a hint as to why Knives never really finds it easy to talk. I hope you all enjoyed that part. XD
> 
> AND OF COURSE, we have V finally admitting that he does like Knives, but being only a few months old, he actually has no idea what to do with that. SO! Any suggestions? Comment them down below. XD
> 
> Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has been with me on this fanfic writing journey. I really do survive on the kudos and comments you make. They make my day, my week, my month, my year, MY LIFE! So please, comment, kudos, or just continue reading. I really do appreciate it.
> 
> Until next chapter, you guys.
> 
> Wuv shuuuu <3


	4. Mothers

The rain continued on even after you got home. It made the air cool down and the temperature become more bearable. You found that you fell asleep somewhere mid-trip, and when you woke up, V was still in front of you. His nose was still in a book, but he wasn’t holding your hand any longer. It made you wonder if what you experienced ever really happened at all. Nero headed to the back to pick up the paper bags full of food, and Nico decided to lend a hand. You got out of the van and headed towards the kitchen. You picked out the ingredients you would be needing before Nico headed towards the fridge to put everything else where it belongs. V slowly followed suit, his movements slow and precise. He asked Nero if he’d be needed for anything, and when Nero said no, he went straight back to his own private corner in the shop lobby.

  
According to Nero, Dante hasn’t gotten any job offers while you were gone. That means the air conditioning unit will remain inactive for longer. Had it not rained, you thought, you probably would’ve cursed that fact. But because the rain made things a whole lot cooler, you were sort of thankful. However, you still couldn’t deny that growing heat inside of you, slowly coming to a simmer… and you really didn’t want to know what would happen once that comes to a boil.  
  
You decided to cook something a bit more appropriate for the weather. You started peeling the skins off and slicing the vegetables while letting the meat soften in a pressure cooker on the stove. You tied your hair back to prevent it from coming over your eyes and you wiped some of the sweat from your forehead with your sleeve. You could hear Trish and Nero discussing potential battle strategies from just outside the kitchen doorway and you’d sometimes see Nico pass by going to the garage door with a cigarette between her lips. The sounds of life were filling up the entire shop, and as much as you liked it, you sort of cursed yourself that you couldn’t contribute to it with the sound of your voice.  
  
As you put the sliced vegetables into the pot of stew you were making, you furrowed your brows. You had to think long and hard about why you never really spoke. Had your mind not wandered into the distant past, you shuddered at the realization that you might have ended up forgetting who you were before __everything__ happened. At first, you thought that you were simply a private person… a person whose thoughts wouldn’t be understood by everyone else. Then, after V tried to kiss you, you had to think about why you thought your thoughts would be so unsavory or hard to understand. There hasn’t been any reaction pointing to that reality coming true… and yet, you still believed it. Then, that memory from seven years ago reminded you that, even as a child, you never really spoke much to anyone except your mother. You remember her telling you that she loved it. You remembered how it made you feel. But, such a sweet memory was torn to pieces after you remembered how, on the same day, you’d have to witness your mother dying in order to protect you.  
  
You remembered running into the forest and staying there, waiting for the demon outbreak to end. For years, you trained with the knife your mother gave you… learning to take down demons so that no one feels the pain of loss that you felt ever again. Your eyes were washed with rage, your heart burning with anger as you sliced down every demon who has ever crossed your path. In your eyes, every demon was the demon who killed your mother. You couldn’t find it in your heart to forgive… but, for the life of you, you also couldn’t understand how you found it easy to forget.  
  
You stood silent in front of the stove, stirring the pot until it was just right. You laid the ladle on the side and covered the pot. As you turned around, you found Dante standing right behind you. So close, your nose hit his chest as soon as you turned around. His chest was so firm, your nose actually hurt a bit upon hitting it. You had to massage your nose a bit as you watched Dante laugh at you.

“Hey, hey, kiddo.” Dante held your shoulder, still laughing, “Watcha cookin’?”  
  
You got your notepad from your pocket and wrote the name of the dish: _Beef Stew_  
____  
__”Ooh. Nice, meaty, and thick. Exactly how I like ‘em.” Dante commented. You smiled a bit, because you found a bit of comfort in his compliment. He decided to sit on the kitchen table as you were clearing out the cutting board and the knives. He was so tall, his head almost hit the ceiling. He ducked at the right time, giving him ample space on the kitchen table. You put the dirty cooking materials in the sink and let them soak in water for a bit. By now, you were actually wondering why Dante would sit around the kitchen waiting for the stew to boil.  
  
”So…” Dante’s voice trailed, “I’ve been waiting to get you alone since I wanted to ask you something.”  
  
You looked at him, questioning him with your eyes. You climbed the table to sit beside him. Dante immediately put his arm around your shoulder, the way a father would put an arm around his child. You immediately shrunk smaller and felt a bit more comfortable being there. Dante could be one of the biggest pervs when people are around, but he could be the most dependable person around from time to time, too. He was the closest thing to a father you could ever have in your lifetime. You sort of hated it and loved it at the same time.  
  
”I wanted to ask you if you were okay…” Dante said, “I didn’t tell anyone but when you came down from your room this morning, I couldn’t help but notice you had red eyes… like you were just crying.” Dante held you closer, “Tell me, were you crying?”  
  
You nodded. You didn’t want to lie to Dante, and besides, you really _were_ crying. Nico saw you cry. Also, if you lied about it, you couldn’t think of an excuse as to why your eyes were red.  
  
”Why were you crying, Knives?” He asked you, looking over to you in a protective manner, “Come to think of it… maybe we should stop calling you ‘Knives’ since you could tell us your name?”  
  
You shook your head. You shifted the notepad in your hands and wrote down: _I’m fine with you guys calling me Knives. You can call me that, for now. And I was crying because I remembered my mom…_  
____  
__Dante read what you wrote and with a nod, he said, “Ah, yeah… Mothers. Memories of our mothers will always make us cry, huh?”  
  
You found yourself lifting the corner of your lips. You tried to smile, but the face of your mother momentarily glazed through your mind and you had to stop yourself from silently sobbing.  
  
”I can tell you a bit about my mom, though…” Dante leaned back, his hands on the surface of the table behind his back, “She had long, blonde hair. She was pretty tall. She was slim and very beautiful…”  
  
You saw him look at you as you were writing down something on the notepad: _I know. I’ve seen Trish, you know._

_ _

“Yeah…” Dante chuckled a bit, “But Trish isn’t my mother. She isn’t _anyone’s_ mother, thank you very much. My mom, she…” Dante paused for a while, trying to gather his words, “Sometimes, as a child, I looked at my mother and wondered how someone as kind and loving as her exist in this planet that’s full of nasty and ugly people.” Dante looked at you with a light expression, “So, you can just imagine my surprise when I found out that dear old dad was actually a demon, huh? It’s like a demon actually loved an angel, and the angel liked him back. Lucky son of a bitch.”

You smiled fully this time. The way Dante put it made you see it his way, and it really made it sound like his father, the demon prince Sparda, was one lucky bastard.  
  
”In a way, I think we sort of have the same story, you know?” Dante put his arm around you once more, tapping your shoulder in a supportive manner, “My mother told me to run, change my name, forget my old life, and live a new one before she died looking for my brother, Vergil. That’s exactly what I did. Changed my name to Tony Redgrave, became friends with Nell Goldstein --- Nico’s grandmother --- and took up demon hunting as a job. Take away the fact that my mom gave me her last wish and order, your story sort of runs the same way.”  
  
He was right, you thought. After your mother died, you ran to the forest with your mother’s knife and nothing else. You ran away from your home to train in using your knives to kill. You even never mentioned your name to anyone. You, then, spent years bounty hunting demons for money as you tried to track the demon who killed your mother. You found more demons and found Dante and his crew with it. After fighting, they asked for your name. When you were silent, they decided to give you the name “Knives”, and you’ve hung onto that ever since.  
  
”However, our little Knives…” Dante said with a sigh, “I’m waaaaaay older than you. I’ve learned a whole lot more in my life. One of the things I’ve learned is that we all deal with loss a different way. I’ve personally dealt with my loss by first denying it ever existed, then being mad about it ever being true, then, just recently…” He looked outside the kitchen doorway, “I’ve tried to bargain with the chips I have left.”  
  
_The chips you have left? _You looked at Dante with that question in your head.

“I learned from way back… that if I wanted to protect this world --- This world that my father saved, that my mother died for, that corrupted my brother --- I’d have to do anything and everything I can… even if that meant killing the only family I had left.” Dante explained, “During the Qliphoth roots mission and upon knowing that Vergil separated himself with the Yamato, deep down inside, I was bargaining with the powers that be. It was still hard for me to kill my brother, Knives.” Dante sunk his head in a momentary gesture of weakness, “But if only I could get him to live, but remove his anger and hatred of this world, I’d take it.” Dante gestured to the door, “And, as you can imagine, me and the big guy upstairs kinda have it tight.”

You knew he was talking about V. You were surprised to find out what Dante really thought of the situation, and you never really considered things to have that big of an effect on him. He always regarded the entire situation with humor and wit. You never imagined that, deep down inside, he was actually both pretty hurt and relieved that Vergil was dead, and he’d have to deal with what measly piece he left: V.  
  
”Now… I think you handle the loss of your mom this way.” Dante gestured to all of you, “You sort of refuse to talk. No one’s heard you speak a word ever since we’ve met you… and, as the oldest person in this shop, I want you to know…” He held both your shoulders, forcing you to look at him, “…that everyone is actually alright with that. Even if Lady wishes she could hear you talk or even if Trish finds your selective mutism a slight inconvenience, we all understand. But…” Dante paused, looking at you, “Do __you__ understand why you’re not talking?”  
  
_Do I? _You thought. Your eyes drifted from Dante to the floor. This was a question you haven’t even asked yourself. It was a question you didn’t __want to__ ask yourself. You simply never talked, you never questioned why. You were just so full of fear, anger, anxiety, and pain… you were scared that if you opened your mouth to speak, all of that toxicity from within your heart would pour out.  
  
But then, you remembered your mother. You remembered her smile. You remembered how she would call you “little bird”. You remembered her hair shining in the afternoon sun as you both walked home together. You remembered her telling you that she felt that you and her were the only ones who understood each other because you rarely talked to anyone.  
  
Your eyes shot wide open as a gasp filled your mouth. You remembered your mother. And you remembered her telling you that she loved that you didn’t talk.  
  
_She loved that you didn’t talk.  
_  
__”Based on that gasp you just let out, I think we’re getting somewhere.” Dante smiled. As soon as he did, the pot boiled and the stew was ready. Dante hopped off the table and headed towards the doorway. You immediately ran after Dante before he could leave and held onto his sleeve. He looked back at you as you were writing something on your notepad: _Thanks, Dante. You’re the best._  
  
”You bet I am, kiddo.” He messed up the hair on your crown, loosening up the ponytail you made. He strutted down into the shop and loudly proclaimed that dinner was ready.  
  
You got the plates out and ready, as you thought about your conversation with Dante.  
  
\----------

Nico and Nero secretly planned to separate Knives and V at dinnertime to get to the bottom of this whole “they like each other but one is a months-old infant in a 28 year old’s body and the other is selective mute who doesn’t even speak to her own shadow” fiasco. Nico decided to eat with you in front of the shop, by the door. Nero practically dragged V to eat with him inside the van, where the air conditioning was working. You told Nico about what you and Dante talked about in the kitchen, while Nero tried to get V to talk about how he was going to handle this whole scenario.  
  
Nero sat opposite V on the van’s mini dining set. Right now, he was fumbling over the words he wanted to say. V was across him, idly digging into his bowl of stew, occasionally eating a slice of carrot or potato. V had his head down so Nero couldn’t exactly tell what was going on in his head… Not like he’d have any idea if V had his head up, though.  
  
”If you have something to say…” V suddenly started talking, “Now would be the perfect time for you to do so.”  
  
”Look, V…” Nero started, hesitantly. He laid down his spoon on his bowl and leaned back into the seat, “Let’s start with the obvious part. You like Knives.”  
  
V looked away and hid behind his black fringe, looking pretty sullen. Something about him struck Nero as pouty and helpless… like a child. Nero had to think that even if V was __technically__ their age, he was still too young in so many ways.  
  
”V, you gotta tell her you like her.” Nero had to repeat what he said from the marketplace, “I mean, how else is she going to know how you feel?”  
  
”Do I even want to let her know how I feel?” V asked, more to himself than to Nero, “I don’t even know what I’m feeling exactly…”  
  
”Well… You said you _think _you like her.” Nero said, trying to carefully speak his words, “What kind of like, then? Like, I like you as a comrade? I like you as a friend? I like you, have my clam chowder?”  
  
”Have my what?” V had to repeat the last sentence Nero mentioned, a sting of confusion and repulsion ringing in his voice.  
  
”Oh, it’s just something that Nico said. Never mind that.” Nero tried to brush it off, “But, like, it means, like… You like her enough that you wanna… you know…” Nero started to speak slowly, very unsure if he wants to continue his line of questioning.  
  
”That I want to… what?” V asked him, eyes in full attention, like a child learning a new thing from an adult.  
  
”That you wanna… ummm…” Nero still fumbled all over his words. He got his index finger on his right hand and his index and thumb on his left hand. He made a circle with the two fingers on the left, and started inserting his right hand’s finger into it.  
  
”God, Nero… spit it out _now_.” V said, his eyes now narrow and impatient. He drank a glass of water to try to ease his impatience.

  
”Fine!” Nero said, exasperated, “Do you like Knives enough that you wanna make love to her?”  
  
In shock, V suddenly spit all of his water out of his mouth. The idea was so carnal, so vulgar, so unbecoming of him… and yet, he thought of Knives, and knew that there was more to it. He remembered her soft lips grazing his ever so slightly, her heartbeat slowly increasing whenever he’d get close, her breathing becoming shallower and shallower as he inched closer to her. He knew he wanted to get to know her, see her naked in front of him, and bask in all of her imperfections…  
  
…but mostly, he just wanted her to say his name. He knew that if he’d hear her say his name, he’d come undone. Completely undone.  
  
”I’m taking that as a yes.” Nero observed as V wiped his lips with his hands. Nero got a scrap cloth from Nico’s workshop corner in the van and wiped the floor with it.  
  
V cleared his throat while Nero sat back down. As Nero was throwing the cloth to the side, V started to speak, “I know that sounds too vulgar, even for me.”  
  
”Well, if you really did wanna make love to her, I know you’ve got the stuff… at least subconsciously.” Nero spoke, munching on a piece of beef in his stew.  
  
”…and how do you know this?” V asked.  
  
Nero pointed to himself, from top to toe, “Uh, hello? Who do you think made me? The gingerbread man?”  
  
V sighed. He was slowly becoming tired of not knowing what to do and not knowing what to words his feelings were called. He was also slowly becoming tired of his past memories as Vergil. Nero was right in a sense that he, as Vergil, definitely screwed a woman who got pregnant with Nero at some point 28 years ago. But he was unaware if this Vergil person knew what being in love felt like… and even more so, if he knew what to do if he found out he was in love with someone.  
  
”You know…” Nero said, his tone more solemn and silent this time around, “You’re lucky. You know deep in your heart that you like Knives… therefore, you’re probably looking for ways to try to understand what she means to you and what you’d be without her. I didn’t even get to think about my lady like that…”  
  
V leaned back into the chair, the remains of the stew were all that remains on his bowl. He pushed the bowl to the side and looked at Nero. With that, Nero continued.  
  
”I lived my childhood not knowing who my parents were, so I grew up with Kyrie and Credo back in Fortuna. They belong to a family that sort of condemns demons, and me having a demon arm, well…” Nero shrugged, “I thought I had to lie in order to get their acknowledgement… so I did. I grew up really liking Kyrie, but I couldn’t tell her because if I did, I’d have to tell her about my demon arm as well. But then, she had to become a member of the congregation, Credo becomes a high ranking official, the council gets taken over by demons…”  
  
”And your point is?” V asked innocently.  
  
”My point is: I was so stuck in dealing with my own bullshit that I never even got to think about whether or not I liked Kyrie and why. I only asked myself those questions and were forced to answer them because I knew that if I didn’t, she’d die.” Nero leaned forward, interlacing his fingers in front of him, “Now, I’m not saying Knives is going to die. She’s too spunky for that kind of melodramatic shit, but…” Nero looked at V, “She’s only human. She might not wait for you forever, man.”  
  
”What do you suggest that I do?” V asked him, “You’re the one with a girlfriend, so you should know.”  
  
”Well, that’s where you got me stumped.” Nero raised his hands in defeat, “I get a failing mark when it comes to romance. And besides, I grew up with Kyrie. She knows I’m not going to be all snuggly and clingy.”  
  
There was a moment of silence inside the van. The air conditioning now giving off its coolest temperature. Nero finished off the rest of his stew and put his bowl to the side as well. Then, he asked.  
  
”What do you see in Knives anyway?”  
  
”She is like…” V struggled for words, “a silent, tranquil lake that I can go to. I find peace in her. No judgement whatsoever. This crew of ours can be so noisy at times, she is the only person who can exist in all of that noise and still be as peaceful as she is.” V fidgeted with his tattooed fingers, “She is also as erratic as water. Childish and innocent at one point, always smiling yet always looking down. However, during times of battle, that water boils into a raging current that scares the living hell out of me.”  
  
”Man, all that without even muttering a single word.” Nero rested his face on his palm, “Wow.”  
  
”I just wish she would talk, though…” V muttered.  
  
”Same, dude… same.” Nero nodded, “Heck, we don’t even know a lot about her. We don’t even know what her real name is.”  
  
”True…” V agreed, “Even with her notepad, she still has not made it known to anyone. It gives me the feeling that she has no intentions of letting anyone know.”  
  
”She’ll probably only give it away when she’s ready.” Nero stood up and got the bowls, “Who knows? She might even just tell it to you.”  
  
”Oh, I have no clue…” V said, standing up as well with the help of his cane, “I don’t even know if she trusts me.”  
  
”Well… try to make her trust you, then.” Nero suggested, “If you don’t know how to start telling her you like her, you can start there.”  
  
Both of them left the van and entered the shop with their dirty bowls. V slowly scanned the shop, looking for your presence. Instinctively, he saw you with Lady as you were looking at all of her guns. You had a wide smile on your face, but when you saw him staring at you, your head sank once more, your smile diminishing into a shy grin.  
  
V had to remind himself to breathe as he thought your smile was beautiful.  
  
Just as they were about to leave the kitchen after leaving their bowls in the sink, Nico came rushing to them.  
  
”Alright, my dudes. You gotta go to the main lobby. Morrison’s back and he’s got a job for y’all to do.” She hollered at them, to which they followed what she said and headed for the main lobby.  
  
\----------

The smell of cigar smoke filled the shop lobby. It’s faded yellow walls clung to the ashy and wooden scent as Morrison let out a puff from his lips. Morrison was the shop’s broker. Whenever there was a job available or a client looking for help, Morrison would drop by and tell Dante.  
  
Morrison was this tall, African-American man. He was always in a suit and always looked like he wasn’t in a hurry for anything. It’s like he doesn’t wait for time… time waits for him. He also has a thick accent, but you really couldn’t tell where it was from. You liked it either way.  
  
The clock read eight in the evening and the sky was already a mesmerizing dark blue. The rain had stopped but the air was still pretty cool. With the front door left open, the shop was pretty bearable. Morrison sat on Dante’s desk, while Dante sat behind it. You stood beside Nico and Nero, near the jukebox. Trish stood near the stairs while Lady sat on the third step. V was sitting on his reading chair facing Dante’s desk. No one uttered a word except Dante and Morrison.  
  
”I see you ain’t got no air conditioning goin’ on…” Morrison said, taking off his hat and fanning himself.  
  
”Yeah, well…” Dante shrugged, “Last job only paid enough money to get water back running. Didn’t get enough money to get the air conditioning units repaired.” Dante thumb-pointed at Nico, “Nico here charges an arm and a leg for repairs.”  
  
”Well, that’s about to change.” Morrison said, fishing out a thick envelope from his jacket. It was filled with money. He waved the envelope in the air for everyone to see, “So, good news? Bad news?”  
  
”Just get on with it, Morrison.” Dante mumbled, putting his feet on top of his desk.  
  
”Well, let’s start with the good news this time.” Morrison then laid the envelope onto Dante’s desk. To which, Dante immediately grabbed it and started counting. Morrison continued, “That money you have there is the collective payment of a group of people…” He looked at Nico, Nero, and you, “…from Fortuna.”

“From Fortuna…? But why?” Nero spoke quiet enough for everyone in the room to hear him.  
  
”That’s the bad news.” Morrison shrugged and shook his head, “After your trip to Fortuna, and after the scandal of The Order of the Sword broke out, Fortuna hasn’t really been the same. The Order may be defunct now, but the entire society is torn into two: between killing all the demons even if they don’t know how to and making sure every demon on earth breaks loose.”  
  
”So…” Dante rested his feet back on the floor, he locked his fists together on the desk, leaning forward, “What’s the deal?”  
  
”Those who are --- let’s just say --- anti-demons… they’ve just recently found out that they can’t just kill demons like they kill other pests. However, the pro-demons have found a way to momentarily open up the remaining hell gates in the area, allowing for more demons to enter our realm.” Morrison walked a little bit further from the desk, now standing in the middle of the room, “There are more demons entering, and none of them are dying. That’s why they’ve pooled all of that money and reached out to you for help.”  
  
”So… we’re like mice terminators. But instead of mice, we have really big demon things?” Dante winced, more in annoyance than reluctance, “Doesn’t really sound like my kind of deal.”  
  
”Oh…? But what if I told you that this deal was a personal request?” Morrison headed for the door.  
  
”Eh? From who?” Dante asked, his eyes still wincing.  
  
”From me.” A lady popped into the open doorway. She had long brown hair and was wearing a white dress that covered almost everything. She had a dainty voice and a light aura about her. Nero suddenly stood up and ran to her.  
  
”Kyrie!” He almost chirped.  
  
”I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you.” She apologized, “I just thought you’ve had enough with the whole demon hunting when you went to Fortuna yesterday but… the townsfolk came to me as soon as you left, and when they explained to me just how much we’ve lost, I really couldn’t say no. I told them I’ll try. That’s why I came here, to look for Morrison…”  
  
Nero looked at Dante, expectantly. Everyone knew that the final say was down to Dante. You looked at the entire crew in the room, and it seemed to you that everyone was holding their breath. You knew everyone wanted to help, in some way or form… but if Dante says no, then it’s a no that’s never going to change.  
  
”Oh, alright…” Dante sighed, “Anything for my dear old nephew here.” Dante gestured at Nero. You heard everyone collectively take a sigh of relief. Dante pointed at Nero, though, “You owe me one.”  
  
”Yeah, I owe you.” Nero bowed his head, trying to conceal the fact that he was smiling.  
  
The night was slowly deepening. Everyone went to their separate rooms to go pack for the trip to Fortuna. You and Nico went to your room, and you could tell that something was on Nico’s mind.  
  
”Hey Knives…” Nico called your attention as soon as she closed the door to your room, “Are you coming with us?”  
  
With the notepad, you scribbled: _Yeah. Why?_  
____  
__”It’s just that…” Nico was hesitant, “…it’s Fortuna. You haven’t been back ever since your mother died.”  
  
You looked at her. You could tell she was concerned about you and your well-being. To be honest, you actually were feeling pretty on edge when you thought about going back to the place you once called home. You didn’t really know what to feel. However, the faces of the people losing their loved ones because demons are on the prowl crossed your mind, and you felt that stone of determination harden in your core. You wrote again to reply:  
  
_Demons are everywhere in Fortuna, Nico. I have to do something. I don’t want anyone to lose anyone they love._  
____  
__Nico was silent. It was true, she had to admit. People were probably losing too much because of the demons on the lose. And demons aren’t that easy to kill. There weren’t a lot of demon hunters around… and she knew that the island of Fortuna could only count on your crew.  
  
”Well, little missy…” Nico approached you and put her hands on your shoulder, “We’re with ya. This team is about to kick demon ass.”  
  
You nodded. As you got your backpack open to pack for your things, your mind wandered to what you and Dante talked about in the kitchen. Of all nights, it had to be tonight, you thought. All of a sudden, the universe and the powers that be are forcing you to go back to Fortuna. You felt like they were trying to make you look at your past, examine it,process it, and accept it. You ran away from Fortuna for years. You thought to yourself that Dante was right… you were still in denial of everything horrible that has happened to you. You face each demon with rage and anger, as if they were the ones who took your mother from you. You refuse to talk because you try to delude yourself into thinking that if you don’t talk for long enough, your mother would come back from the dead.  
  
_It’s never going to happen… _You thought, dumping clothes into your bag. _This anger, this rage, and this hate… ends here. It ends now. All of it. _You got your knives from under the bed. The glowed red from demonic energy and was eternally sharp. Also, you got your Glock 19 pistols and put them in the holster on your thighs.__  
____  
__You close your backpack with a zip, and put it over your shoulder. You waited for Nico to finish her packing and, together, you left your room.  
  
Everyone met up at the garage, their bags over their shoulders and their weapons tucked close to their bodies. Nico, Nero, V, and you would take the van, while Lady, Trish, and Dante would take their motorcycles. Each of you would ride to the port, catch a ferry and land on Fortuna. The motorbikes went ahead, while Nico started up the van. Nero rode shotgun again. While being alone with V made you feel uneasy, it didn’t really put you off now since a lot was on your mind.  
  
V immediately noticed your face, dead serious and that rage in your eye slowly deepening. You were seated in the dining area of the van, hands before you like you were praying, and your eyes on fire. A chill ran down his spine. You looked like you were ready to snap the spine off of a Nidhogg. However, behind that rage, he saw that glimmer of sadness in your eyes.  
  
Sadness and fear, a feeling he knew all too well.  
  
As the clock turned to eleven o’clock, V turned to move to the dining area and sit before you. He still didn’t know how to express how he felt for you, but as your comrade, he knew that at least he could offer his company.  
  
You looked at V who silently took a seat before you as Nico got the van up and running. He didn’t have his book open this time and he was looking straight at you. There was no longer any hint of mischief or misdemeanor in his green eyes. There was just… a reflection of you in this darkness, bathed in the evening moonlight. You had to stare in awe and wonder at how he can even stare at you with those eyes of his. But, he did something that made you more shocked.  
  
He reached out with both of his hands and held both of yours. He was still silent, but somehow you knew what he wanted to say. You understood that he knew what you were going through and the actions you needed to do in order to see it through. In his own way, he was empathizing with you… and you appreciated that. You tightened your grip on his hand, making him look at your hands then back at you.  
  
No sound still escaped your mouth, but your lips formed the words you wanted to say: _Thank you._  
  
V smiled and nodded, as he slowly gripped your hands. Unknown to the both of you, Nero saw you guys holding hands and felt to himself that there’s nothing like the possibility of a good demon beat down that gets people to be honest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello hello! And I am baaaaaaaaaaaack!
> 
> We have a chapter full of good ol' daddy Dante, and idk... his words actually struck a chord in me. I love me some daddy Dante... as a father figure, of course. HAAHAHAHAHA. And don't you just love how Nero is actually TRYING to help V even though he's practically clueless? Bless his heart.
> 
> And, for some reason, they're going back to Fortuna to settle a request made by Nero and Kyrie. It's only now that I revealed that Knives is also from Fortuna, and it was there that her mother died and she ran to Mitis Forest to learn how to kill demons. What do you think will happen once she returns there? Comment it down below! 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who keeps reading and commenting on my fic! I saw that this fic already has more than 1k hits, OMG!!! Thank you guys. You keep me inspired. Thank you thank you thank you. I hope I can continue writing, so that I could make you all happy.
> 
> Wuv and hugs <3


	5. Melancholia

The entire crew was able to ride the final ferry going to Fortuna for the day. Nico drove the van into the boat and then, with a final explosion of the ship’s horn, the ferry went on its way.  
  
Nico and Nero decided to get some sleep where they were seated. Dante decided to sleep near some boxes in the cargo hold. Trish and Lady were nowhere to be found, but you assumed that they found a place for them to get some shut-eye, as well. V wasn’t asleep yet, but you assumed he might take the van’s couch. He was seated on it, reading his favorite book. If you were to be honest with yourself, sleep wasn’t really on your mind right now. In fact, a lot of things were on your mind right now, and you thought the van was too cramped a space for you to think. You needed air, you needed the sky… You needed to be outside.

You headed for the van’s door and stepped outside. Your leather boots made a really loud clunking sound with every step you made. The smell of rusted metal felt a bit nostalgic to you, as the scent reminded you of the day you left Fortuna with Dante and the crew. It’s been a good several months, you thought to yourself. However, you thought that it was a cruel joke that you had to go back now. It was just too cruel.  
  
You reached the top level of the ferry. Rows of empty chairs filled the deck. Had it been the daytime, you thought that these chairs would be filled by people: families, friends, loved ones… All of them going to Fortuna for some sentimental reason. The only reason you had to stay in Fortuna was dead… so you never really found any reason to go back. Nero still had Kyrie and the orphans they were taking care of and Nico still had Nero to take care of… so you understood why they’d still come back to Fortuna. They would always ask you if you’d like to come, but you always shook your head to say no. They assumed that you had to stay to cook, or that Dante needs you to stay in the shop for some reason… but the real reason was that it was too painful for you to come back. Later on, after Dante telling them what had happened to you, they finally understood why you never wanted to come back.  
  
You looked up at the sky as you leaned into the railings in the front of the boat. It was a very beautiful shade of midnight blue. Not a cloud was in sight, it almost seemed like the rain from a while ago didn’t even take place. In place of the clouds, you saw a million stars twinkling and shining down on you. The stars were absolutely breathtaking, you thought, but you couldn’t help but feel sad. They were so beautiful and yet so distant. No one could reach them even if they wanted to. They showed their brilliance to everyone but didn’t allow anyone to hold them or touch them… and you found that thought triggering a strange sense of melancholy with you. Your mother, you thought, was like a star. Her memory was so beautiful and so mesmerizing, so full of love and joy… but she has long departed from you. You can no longer touch her, or kiss her, or hug her, or tell her you love her. She was simply… gone.  
  
The cold air clung to your skin. You crossed your arms in front of your chest and bundled your clothes closer together for heat. You looked at the waves of the sea below you. There wasn’t any land for miles, you observed. With the boat moving straight and the water reflecting the color of the sky, you thought that you looked like you were floating in a sea of tranquil, melancholic nothingness.  
  
Your silent meditation was interrupted by the sounds of incoming foot steps. They were soft, light, and slow. _Pat, pat, tick. Pat, pat, tick_,__ they went. That extra sound of the cane tapping the ground gave away who it was.  
  
You looked to your side to see V standing there, the cold wind blowing on his raven black hair. He looked at the sky and the sea, and then at you. He, then, sighed, “_Can I see another's woe, and not be in sorrow too? Can I see another's grief, and not seek for kind relief?_”  
  
The corner of your lip raised to give him a sad smile. He was quoting William Blake again, you could tell. You were both completely unaware as to how to express how you felt so you relied on silence and he relied on poetry. It was a weird way of communicating, but you had to admit that it was precisely what you needed right now.  
  
He looked at you, with his dark forest green eyes, “I can tell that you are saddened by something…” He looked down into the water, “Is it too much if I keep you company?”  
  
You shook your head, that sad smile slowly deepening into a sigh. You found it quite odd, you thought while standing beside this tall, thin man beside you. It was odd that just two days ago, if V was near you, you felt like your heart was about to pop out of your chest. You couldn’t breathe and you had to regain your composure. Now however, he’s close to you and you’ve even held his hands and… nothing. The whole disaster in your chest was gone. You continued to breathe, as normal. Your composure, however, was still pretty much affected. Only now, as he stood so close to you, you could feel your heart lightening up a bit. You started to feel a little less lonely, a little less in pain. Before, his presence filled you up with such a fanfare of emotions… but now, his presence seems to take all of those noisy and distracting emotions away. With him standing beside you, you felt a peace you haven’t felt in a long time. For now, as the boat ferried you into the sea, you were thankful that he was keeping you company.  
  
”Little wanderer…” V sighed as he expressed himself, “I am getting the feeling that you’re…” He looked for the right word, “…sad about something.” He looked at you, trying to meet your gaze, “Is that the reason why you can’t sleep?”  
  
You nodded as you leaned into the railings even further. You patted your back pocket to look for the notepad and the pen, but you found that it wasn’t there. You realized that you left it in your backpack inside the van. You gestured to V that you didn’t have your notepad with you.

“Oh…” V muttered. He then slightly grinned and offered you his open palm, “You can try to write what you’re feeling here.”  
  
You gingerly took his hand, yours shaking with a mix of worry and caution. With your index finger, you scribbled the words: _Sad. Scared._  
____  
__”Scared?” V said it out loud. You nodded, head looking down. You looked at the general direction in which you were headed. It used to be a place you called home… but now, you just weren’t sure. You looked at V’s open palm again and started tracing the letters, one by one: _I’m scared to go home. Don’t know what I’ll find._  
_  
_”Ah… yes.” V said with a sad yet satisfied tone, “You are scared of what you might find after being away for so long. I understand…”  
  
You looked away as he spoke the truth to you. You were sad that your mother was gone, but you were even more scared of something else… something deeper. Something that you had no words for yet.  
  
”Come. Why don’t we…” He gently held your hand and led you towards one of the empty rows of chairs on the ferry, “…take a seat?” You sat beside each other at the front row of chairs facing the sea. The sea was now sparkling under the light of the full moon. Its beauty momentarily took you out of the moment you were in and you just gazed at it in awe. You exhaled, your shoulders sinking lower. You tried to move your hand, but you found that you couldn’t… because, for some odd reason, V was still holding onto it.  
  
V, on the other hand, didn’t really pay that much attention to the moon. It didn’t capture his interest as much as you being alone with him on that boat deck did. The world was dark, very sad, and very cold… but seeing you there, silently fighting the darkness inside you stirred something in him. He could vaguely remember how his old self, Vergil, would quickly dismiss moments like this, but he didn’t. It was always the human spirit that never gives up that gets to him. Unlike Vergil, he always believed that humans had hope in them, and that made them worth protecting. However, __you__ were something special… _someone_ special to him. He saw himself willing to offer anything and everything he could if that meant you’d be safe… However, he couldn’t really protect you from your own mind and the inner demons haunting you from within. You just wouldn’t talk… you wouldn’t let him (or anyone) in. He was saddened by the thought that the most that he could do for you for now… was hold your hand.  
  
”I hope you do not find me too presumptuous.” V looked down at his hand holding yours, “I just wanted to ho---” He was suddenly cut and interrupted by your gesture in response. You flipped your left hand, turning it palm-side facing his hand, and you interlaced your fingers with his.  
  
And in that moment, time stood still and everything was quiet. The sea, the sky, the moon, and the boat that you were on didn’t really seem to exist or matter. All that was important was that you were sitting beside each other in silence. That was all that mattered.  
  
You gripped V’s hand tight, your thumb slowly caressing his finger. You felt your feelings for him deepen from a childish infatuation to a sincere kind of liking that you really didn’t want to bother explaining. You like him… No, you _love_ him. But, now isn’t the time to make these feelings known. You weren’t sure what he was doing or how he was feeling towards you or what made him change from being so smug and overbearing to being so sober and caring. There were so many unknowns at this moment… probably a bit more than your head and heart can bear. But, as the moonlight struck V, highlighting his angled face, his emeralds for eyes, his rosy lips, and his dark hair, you set those unknowns aside… and just decided to let things be for now.  
  
You felt your eyes grow heavy and sleep slowly take over you. V looked at you as you yawned. He whispered, “Would you like me to tell you a poem?”  
  
”Mmm…” You nodded as you mumbled a single sound, a gesture of gratitude for his company. You could hear V breathing beside you and the sea breeze rushing through you. You were about to fall asleep but you wanted to hear his voice… just one more time. V cleared his throat and decided to speak:  
  
_Never seek to tell thy love_  
_Love that never told can be_  
_For the gentle wind does move_  
_Silently invisibly_

_I told my love I told my love_  
_I told her all my heart_  
_Trembling cold in ghastly fears_  
_Ah she doth depart_  
____  
__In that moment, V felt something heavy suddenly fall on his shoulder. He turned his head to the side and found you sleeping peacefully, with your eyes closed and your breathing steady. Your head was on his shoulder, strands of your hair falling quietly towards your face. He could feel your heartbeat as your chest stuck close to his arm… and it was a calm, steady heartbeat. It was as if, for a moment, you found your peace.  
  
V sighed as he took his free hand to tuck your hair behind your ear, his thumb gently grazing your cheek and chin. He loved you, he knew that. He still didn’t know how to say it… but he felt comfort in the notion that he could just do the simple things (such as keeping you company and holding your hand), and you would understand.  
  
While looking at you, sleeping and dreaming on his shoulder, and your hand still locked with his, he decided to finish his poem:  
  
_Soon after she was gone from me,_  
_A traveller came by,_  
_Silently, invisibly:_  
_He took her with a sigh._  
__

You shifted your position a bit, your body still sticking close to his. The silence of the dark, early morning engulfed the both of you into this one, singular moment of ambient tranquility. V, satisfied with whatever he’s done for you for now, smiled to himself. He took his free hand and cupped your warm cheek. He brought your face closer as he leaned in to kiss your forehead.  
  
”Little wanderer…” He whispered, his lips still grazing your hair. He breathed in the scent of Jasmine still lingering on your crown. You remained motionless, your eyes hinted that you might be dreaming. V then rested his head on yours and exhaled, “Hie thee home.”

\----------

The color of the sky was slowly starting to lighten as the sun slowly made its way out of the horizon. V could see the island city of Fortuna in the distance. He couldn’t bring himself to sleep since he wanted to maximize the experience of being so close to you. In fact, right now, you were still asleep. Your head was on his lap, with your hands cushioning your head and your hair in a giant tumble of a mess. He didn’t want to leave, but he also knew that the boat was going to port in a few minutes. He had to go back to the van and prepare. So, he gently held your head and moved a bit to the side so that he could lay your head onto the seat. You shifted a bit, but you didn’t wake up. He sadly sighed as he brushed some of your hair strands out of your face. He lingered, looking at how the first rays of sun shone on your serene face. Then, he picked up his cane and left.  
  
Being away from you after being so close, he found, was absolute torture. It pained him to know that you were so close, but he was slowly walking away. He only comforted himself with the notion that you’d be awake soon, and he’d have the chance to be near you once more… but that peace you felt while you were asleep would be gone.  
  
He took a step into the van to find Nero awake, reading his book on the couch. Nico was on the outside, on the cargo hold deck overlooking the sea, smoking. V marched in and snatched the book from Nero’s grasp.  
  
”Oh, there you are, Dad!” Nero almost sang. V thought it was too early for him to be this cheery, and he cringed at being called “dad”. Nero crossed his arms on his chest and looked at him, “I was wondering where you were.”  
  
”I was upstairs.” V mentioned, monotonously.  
  
”I’m also wondering where Knives is, actually…” Nero muttered, honestly curious, “I remember waking up to find the both of you gone…”  
  
”She’s also upstairs.” V answered, “She’s asleep on the chairs.”  
  
”Wait a second…” Nero narrowed his eyes and looked at V intently, “If you were upstairs and she’s upstairs, you don’t mean you two----?” His eyes widened in shock as he mentally thought of the answer.  
  
”No, we didn’t. I have not even told her that I like her yet.” V mumbled morosely, “I just…” He sighed in defeat, “…kept her company and…”  
  
”And…?” Nero inched closer, curious as to what happened.  
  
”…And I held her hand.” V admitted, “Then, she fell asleep on my shoulder.”  
  
Nero smiled a giant smile, and raised his hand for a high-five. V just looked at him like he was suggesting that he should eat worms or something, so he put his hand down and shrugged, “Well, at least you’re getting somewhere. Nice job.”  
  
”Yeah, well…” V voice trailed off, feeling a bit unsure and uncertain. Nero then shrugged and excused himself. He said he’d go look for Dante and the others.

After a while, the van door suddenly opened. You slowly walked in, rubbing your eyes and yawning. You looked for your backpack and saw it near the couch… where V was sitting, reading his book once more. Your back pack was right by his feet. V’s eyes drifted towards you standing by the open door and closed his book.  
  
”Did you sleep well?” V asked you. Like always, your eyes questioned if last night ever happened at all. Did he really keep you company? Did you really hold his hand? You knew you dreamed of smelling darjeeling tea and oranges, but, when you opened your eyes and found that he was nowhere to be seen, you had to second guess yourself.  
  
”I am sorry for leaving you on the deck. I did not want to wake you…” V continued after noticing your questioning eyes. All of a sudden, your shoulders relaxed and your eyes softened. You weren’t dreaming, you thought. It really happened.  
  
”Y…y….” You tried to talk, but it felt like something was caught in your throat that was stopping you from speaking. You closed your eyes and you closed your mouth and decided to nod instead. You saw V’s eyes light up with expectation after seeing you attempt to speak, but you saw that light dim quite a bit after you failed. You felt sorry, but resigned yourself with the thought that there was really nothing you can do.  
  
”Well, well, well. Mornin’, sleepin’ beauty!” Nico sang a cheery tune as she entered the driver’s seat, making you and V turn to her, “Morning to you, too, V.

_Silence._  
  
”Ooooohkay.” Nico said, turning the key into the ignition. You saw Dante and Nero come out of the cargo hold, their belongings with them. Trish and Lady slowly appeared from nowhere, too. They all got ready beside their bikes. Nero entered the van, riding shotgun again.  
  
”Dante says that the boat’s going to make port in about thirty minutes. We need to get ready.” Nero announced to everyone. When he saw you standing in the van with that look, he immediately turned to your direction with a worried look on his face, “Hey, Knives. You okay?”  
  
”Mmm…” You nodded with a sound. You fixed your face and arranged it to look a little bit more agreeable.  
  
”Oh, hey. Look who’s talking!” Nero grinned. When you winced at him, he simply laughed, “At least, you’re starting to try. Maybe it’s because you’re going back home, yeah?”  
  
”Nero!” Nico pinched Nero’s cheeks and made him turn to the front of the car. You heard V give an exasperated sigh as he returned to reading his book. Outside, you saw Dante attempting to enthrall his female companions with yet another rendition of a Michael Jackson choreography. You had to smile a bit and appreciate the fact that, at least, Dante was trying to make everyone smile… especially knowing what kind of tragedy you all might face later.  
  
The clock read six o’clock and the morning sky was just starting to intensify its blue color. This time, Nico’s Minotaurus led the way, since you were all headed to the orphanage that Nico, Nero, and Kyrie call home on regular days.

You sat down onto the dining table’s chair and looked outside the window. You saw Fortuna, a land you once called home, once more and your heart stirred a little with nostalgia. The buildings were majestic and almost magical in its architecture. Most of them were white or silver. Everything was built in such a style that was very distinct of the land. On the way to the orphanage, your van passed by civilians with their heads covered in a white cloth. These were followers of the faith, you thought. You and your mother were never allowed to wear them since, after your mother got pregnant with you, she was practically disowned by her family and, by extension, the congregation.

Your mother was thirty-four years old when she died. That meant that when she got pregnant with you, she was just sixteen. She never really told you who your father was or how it was that you were created, but she did tell you that even if you still had grandparents, they didn’t want to see either of you. They disowned your mother, with you slowly growing in her belly. She was kicked out of their family home in Central Fortuna, and eventually, she found her way into a rustic town near Lumina Peak. There, she worked for an elderly couple who were too old to attend to their furniture shop. The elderly couple passed away a few months after you were born. As such, your mother found out that the couple left the shop to her, so that she could have a living and a salary to support the both of you from then on out.

You were practically shocked out of your reverie when Nico violently hit the breaks and stopped the van.  
  
”Nico, jeez! Ease up on the breaks there!” Nero complained. He almost hit his head on the dashboard. You saw V staring at Nico and Nero, with a look of alarm in his eyes. You took a look around and found that you were in a garage. It was dark and slightly stuffy. After a couple of moments of silence, a door in the distance opened and a stampede of little children ran to the van.  
  
”It’s Nero! He’s back!” The orphans collectively proclaimed with such joy and innocence. Nero and Nico jumped out of the car, with Nero scooping up a little girl from the crowd. Nico was kneeling on the ground, high-fiving a couple of kids. Dante, Trish, and Lady followed suit and Dante immediately carried some of the kids on his arms and shoulders. Trish kept her distance while Lady asked the kids if they had a bathroom. You headed towards the exit trying to grab your back pack, but before you could reach it, a hand took it from the floor.

“Let’s go.” V said, carrying your back pack on one of his shoulders. You nodded and you both left the Minotaurus in the garage.

The orphanage was a Fortuna branch of Devil May Cry. The sign was blue, compared to the Red Grave branch’s red. It was bigger than your home branch though, because it also doubled as an orphanage for a lot of the children whose parents were killed during the demon attacks. You were led by Nero to the lobby, and there you put down all of your things. You, Trish, and Lady sank into some leather seats while Dante looked for the fridge for some food. Nico stayed behind inside the van because she wanted to fine tune some of your and Lady’s weapons before going on a mission. V settled in a dark corner on the other side of the room, opened his book, and started reading again. Nero decided to herd the children back to their rooms and instructed them to stay there until he came back to tell them it was done. Once the kids were all safe inside their rooms, Dante decided to talk to all of you.  
  
”Alright… Fortuna.” Dante started awkwardly. You could tell he wasn’t used to giving pep talks, “First of all, none of you are getting paid for this.”  
  
”What?!” Lady protested with Trish. You, V, and Nero just looked at each other, puzzled.  
  
”I mean, come on! It’s a simple termination mission. If I paid you, it would be like paying you to breathe.” Dante defended himself. Before Lady or Trish could come up with any counterarguments, Dante continued, “Anyway! Back to the topic. Fortuna…”  
  
Nero, impatient as usual, cut him off, “According to Kyrie, most of the previous members of the Holy Knights have turned their attention to protecting Port Caerula and Central Fortuna, so everyone might be safe here. But, from time to time, demons attack the center and they can barely handle the number of demons that attack.” Nero stopped to look at Dante, asking for permission to continue but Dante already has his nose in a magazine so Nero continued on, “The people want to know where the remaining hell gates are, if they are open, so they know where the demons are coming from. Then, they want these gates closed and the demons exterminated.”  
  
”Do they have any guesses as to where the demons are coming from?” Trish asked.

“They do.” Nero answered. He got a map from a shelf near the lobby and flung it open once he returned, “This is a map of Fortuna. There are several smaller hell gates still around, while the ruins of the main hell gate here in Central Fortuna was destroyed by Dante several years ago.” Nero got his pencil and started drawing circles on the map, “The most likely places we need to check are in Fortuna Castle, Ferrum Hills at the bottom of Lamina Peak, the old headquarters of the Order of the Sword, and Mitis Forest.” Nero flipped his pencil like it was his gun and dropped it on the table, “So, who goes where?”  
  
”Easy. I’ll take the castle.” Dante muttered as he holstered Ebony and Ivory. He looked at the entire crew, “Nero, you can go to Mitis Forest. The girls can go to the old headquarters, and Mr. Poetry could just take Ferrum Hills.”  
  
”Eh…” Nero squeaked uneasily, “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”  
  
”Huh? Why not?” Dante raised an eyebrow.  
  
”Trish doesn’t like the company, so giving her two would be a bit too much, don’t you think?” Nero said, easily pushing Trish under the bus. Trish widened her eyes at him, which he ignored.  
  
”I fly solo, man.” Dante shrugged, “If you want a lady, you can take Lady or Knives. Or better yet, you should’ve brought your girlfriend with you. She didn’t have to stay in Red Grave City if Central Fortuna was safe, ya know?”  
  
”I was sort of thinking…” Nero’s voice trailed uneasily, “…of letting V and Knives go to Ferrum Hills together.”  
  
”But V already has support! From that little chicken, and that smoke kitty, and that giant ogre…” Dante mumbled, gesturing towards V who didn’t look like he was paying any attention to the conversation.  
  
”My familiars get tired in battle as well…” V suddenly spoke, not raising his gaze from the floor, “I’ll need a person to back me up.”  
  
”See?” Nero pointed at V, “So, it’s settled: You go to Fortuna Castle, I go to Mitis Forest, Trish and Lady go to the headquarters, and V and Knives go to Ferrum Hills.”  
  
”Tch. Fine.” Dante clicked his tongue.  
  
Everyone stood up to get their weapons. You tightened your thigh holsters and double tied your shoe strings. Nico came in to give you and Lady your weapons back, and then some. Nico gave you another pair of knives that sort of worked like V’s cane.  
  
”It can make ya teleport to where you plant that thing in, just so ya know.” Nico whispered to you, “It’s made from the same demonic energy V’s cane is made of. It’s kinda like couple shirts… but, for weapons.” Then, Nico spoke out loud to everybody, “Alright, everyone! Grab a piece!” She handed out hand-held transmitters to each of you, “Anyone needs a helpin’ hand, just beep on them little babies, and I’ll drive onto wherever you are. Got it?”  
  
Nero got his transmitter just before V did, and as V was walking away, Nero grabbed him by the shoulders and whispered. “You know what to do, right?”  
  
”About?” V looked at him, peering through his black fringe.  
  
”About Knives.” Nero emphasized with a whisper.  
  
”You are making it sound like I’m going to harm her.” V’s eyes narrowed at Nero.  
  
”Well, it depends if you’re kinky like that…” Nero joked. V’s eyes narrowed even further so Nero decided to break the conversation, “Well, whatever, man. But remember what your old pal William Blake would say. A man who desires but act not breeds flatulence.”  
  
”Pestilence.” V corrected him.  
  
”Right, pestilence. Okay. Nice talk.” Nero tapped his shoulder and strapped his sword on his back, “Anyway, good luck.” Nero walked away with his arms behind his head. After that, V decided to go to you before you went on your way. You were wearing several knife sheaths on your black shirt. Your belt contained several magazines containing bullets for your glocks. You looked at him approaching you.  
  
”It is time for us to go.” V said, “Are you alright with working with me again?”  
  
You nodded. You left your backpack in the orphanage. All you were bringing with you were your weapons, Nico’s trasmitter, your notepad, and some money. Your heart felt like it was going to explode but at the same time, you couldn’t feel it moving an inch. You were scared… No, you were __mortified__.  
  
”Do you know how to get to Ferrum Hills?” V asked you.  
  
Again, you nodded. You fished out your notepad from your pocket and wrote down this message:  
  
_Yes, I do. It’s where I used to live._  
____  
__\----------

Nico drove Trish and Lady to the old headquarters because it was the farthest from Central Fortuna. Nero and Dante went together since Fortuna Castle was on the way to Mitis Forest, since the forest lay directly behind the castle. You and V went on foot to a sort of industrial complex at the bottom of the mountain. Once near the complex, V released Griffon and Shadow.  
  
”Oh, man. I am glad to be out!” Griffon said, flapping his wings vigorously, “You’ve kept me in there for days. What gives, V?”  
  
”I had no need of you.” V answered. You and V were walking at a quick pace and you could hear your heart beating through your ears. V continued to argue with Griffon, but all you could hear was that quickening _thump, thump, thump_. You looked at the metal scaffolds around you and had a flashback of yourself as a child.  
  
You would always spend your time here either with a single friend or by yourself. You would often find yourself sitting on the top of the scaffolds, with a sketchpad or notebook on your lap, and you would write stories about anything and everything. You’d stay there until sundown and your mother would come get you, and you’d walk home together. Sometimes, you’d stop by an ice cream shop on the way home if your mother had extra money for the day.  
  
”Knives.” V called your attention. He noticed you stopped walking as you were zoning out, “Are you alright?”  
  
You were snapped out of your flashback. You massaged your temple, and looked at him. You tried to smile, but you found yourself gritting your teeth instead. V walked ahead of you and you tried to follow.

You encountered a couple of Scarecrows on the way. V battled from a distance, giving orders to Griffon and Shadow. You, on the other hand, ran to the demons and sliced them face to face. It’s been a while since you killed demons, you thought, but there was something holding you back. Something silent. Something heavy.  
  
That fear. That ungodly fear that you had no words for. It was making your arms heavy, and your moves uneasy. You kept glancing at V, making sure he and his familiars were okay. Once the battle was done, you swiped your knives through the air to rid them of demon blood before putting them back on their sheaths.  
  
”So many demons, so little time…” V muttered under his breath as Griffon perched on his arm.  
  
”Yeah, all of those demons sauntering around the ruins of a town.” Griffon answered, “Something doesn’t add up, V.”  
  
”Let’s…” V looked at you. You were staring at the corpse of a Scarecrow you slain, with your eyes practically red with both fear and anger, “…keep going.”  
  
After a few hours and a few more minor demon slaying, you and V entered a place with thick green grass. It was on the side of the mountain, perched so high it overlooked the sea from below. There were rows of houses on each side, but they were ruined and dilapidated. Each house had an overgrowth of weeds and shrubs, like people haven’t been in them for several years. This was the residential section, you thought. V was silently looking around, casually touching the fences and gates of some of the houses. You, however, found your walking pace slowly quickening, until you were running. You heard V tell you to wait, but your feet were moving on its own. You ran and you ran, until you stopped at the farthest house, located over the edge directly overlooking the sea.  
  
V caught up with you while you were standing in front of the front door, your hand reaching for the doorknob, but it hung there in the air… shaking. V slowly approached you and looked at your face. Your eyes were watery, as if you were about to cry… but you were gritting your teeth so hard that your jaw was giving out unnatural angles in the light. V took your hand and put it down. Without saying a word, he turned the doorknob and opened the door with a creak.  
  
The house was small and silent. Dust and cobwebs were everywhere. And yet, everything remained exactly where they were. You took a few cautious steps inside, every step creaking under your boots. The wooden floorboards, to the faded light green wallpaper, to the pictures on the table… You remembered all of it.  
  
This was your house… once upon a time.

You walked to the kitchen, and once you were at the opening, a flashback triggered once more.  
  
You saw yourself and your mother eating a giant cake on your eighteenth birthday. There were some balloons on the chairs. Your mother was laughing at you because your face was a mess because you were crying of joy, with several swipes of icing on your face.  
  
You blinked and the kitchen was back to its sorry state, but you saw the bowl of blueberries on the dining table, now dried up and rotten. You ran your fingers over to the sink and the stove, and you found yourself biting your lip. You missed home, you realized. More importantly, you missed your mom. You missed how it used to be, how simple things were, and how your mother proved to you that everything will be alright no matter what happened. You were flung into a constant state of uncertainty and anxiety when she died, and you knew you became a totally different person. You often smiled or expressed an agreeable expression, but deep down inside, you were an anxious mess.  
  
You turned around to look for V, but couldn’t find him. However, you saw Shadow laying on the bottom of the stairs with Griffon perched on the stair railings.  
  
”V’s upstairs, sweetheart.” Griffon told you. You patted his head as thanks and you slowly made your way up the wooden stairs. You turned left to find V standing in the middle of a room.  
  
Your old room.

“Knives, this was…” V turned to you, his eyes full of shock and questions. You sighed and nodded. Your old room was exactly how you left it. Your old bed sheets were dusty and the comforter your mother peeled off of you was still in the corner where she threw it. The pink wallpaper was bleached to almost white. You moved closer to where your bed was and looked outside the window. You saw the sea ebbing and flowing as if the ravages of time did not exist. You turned to V who picked up a picture frame beside your bed. He looked at it with an intense stare. He then came close to you and showed you the photo.  
  
It was a picture of you and your mother taken when you were by the sea. You were younger in that picture--- around the age of fifteen. You saw your mother, frozen in time in the photograph, with her wide smile and her arms around you, her hair frizzy and messy from the breeze from the ocean. You were there, too. You had shorter hair and had chubbier cheeks. You were holding onto your mother, also smiling, with your eyes closed in glee.  
  
”You look exactly like your mother.” V’s words reached your ear. There was a sad tone to it, like he felt your sense of loss as well. You traced your finger on the glass of the frame, trying to touch your mother’s face… but you found out that you couldn’t. Not anymore.  
  
Your lips shook and tears started falling from your eyes. With all of your emotions spilling over the edge of your lips, you exhaled as you said your first word in seven years.  
  
”Mom…” You said, your voice in so much raw pain. Your voice almost sounded foreign to you after not hearing it said out loud for so long.

Your tears started falling from your eyes relentlessly, and you started shaking. Your knees weakened as you fell to the floor. V rushed towards you, holding your shoulders and calling you… but you just wouldn’t answer. You held the picture close to your chest and cried. All the pain you’ve kept hidden for seven years, now boiling and overturning you. Memories flooded your mind, flashback after flashback, overwhelming you. Every word your mother has ever said, every argument you’ve ever had, every single touch she’s ever given you… every laugh, every smirk, every cry… You remembered it all. It was so inhumane and cruel that she was taken from you, you hated it. But most importantly, you hated yourself for changing into a person you didn’t know.  
  
You used to be so confident, so bold. It didn’t matter that you were alone most of the time because you knew that at the end of the day, you had your mother… and your mother had you. You rarely spoke before because you didn’t think people were capable of knowing and understanding the stories and adventures you dreamed up in you head… Now, you don’t even speak because you’re scared people will judge you. You were once this strong and powerful girl… You didn’t know who you were anymore. You thought that, not only did the demons take your mother from you, they indirectly killed you as well.

With your eyes closed, you suddenly felt your forehead rest onto something. You felt a pair of arms engulf you. You heard an extra pair of heartbeats along with yours. Yours were frantic and panicking, while the other one was steady and calm. The scent of tea and fruit made you open your eyes and made you realize that…

…V was hugging you.  
  
He was holding you close to his chest. His cane was on the floor, making both of his hands free to hold you. His left hand was wrapped tightly around your waist while his right hand cradled your head, patting your crown. His steady breathing slowly but surely calmed you down. When you’ve slowly stopped sobbing, V then held your shoulders and looked you in the eye.  
  
”Everything…” V started, holding your shoulders tightly. He looked into your eyes as the noontime sun struck a light on his, “…will be okay.”

Those were the exact words you needed to hear at that moment. With all your memories flashing by, you felt as if the earth cracked and swallowed you whole. However, V was there and him holding you close like this made you feel that everything will indeed be fine.  
  
Just then, the moment was broken when your transmitters started buzzing.  
  
”Hello, hello, everyone! Dante here.” Dante’s fuzzy voice spoke on the other end of the line.  
  
”Anything over there, Dante?” Trish’s voice rang next after Dante spoke.  
  
”I’m only halfway done. Only minor demons around. Haven’t met any too big to handle.” Dante mentioned. You could tell he was running up some stairs because he was huffing while talking, “How’s everyone else?”  
  
”Same story here.” Lady suddenly spoke, “Trish and I decided to split up to cover more ground. I just encountered Scarecrows and a couple of Frosts.”  
  
”Minor demons in the forest.” Nero reported, “But, I’m currently handling a couple of Blades, so I’m gonna catch ya later. Bye!”  
  
”How about you, V?” Lady asked.  
  
”Aside from a few Scarecrows, we’re fine.” V muttered into the transmitter. You looked at your own transmitter into your own hand and realized that even if your mother was gone, these people were still with you. They were your new family now. You were physically powerless to protect your mother, but you weren’t powerless anymore. You held onto the transmitter tighter, then shoved it down your pocket for safekeeping.  
  
”Well, if any of you get into trouble, I’m just here on standby.” Nico muttered on her end. She was probably in her van, behind the wheel, smoking.

V tucked the transmitter into his pocket and looked at you. Silently, you opened the picture frame and removed the photo inside. You sighed as a single tear left your eye. V lifted a finger and wiped the tear out of your face. You looked at him, face filled with questions.  
  
”Don’t cry here.” V motioned, picking up his cane from the floor, “We can no longer change the past. We can only hope to change the future.”  
  
You heard a fluttering of wings rush upstairs and all of a sudden, Griffon rushed into your room, looking alarmed.  
  
”Uh, Shakespeare…” He started, “I don’t mean to ruin your moment here but there’s something going on down below.”  
  
All of you rushed onto the edge overlooking the commercial section where all the shops were at. On the side stood a giant obsidian stone full of demonic writing--- Ferrum Hill’s hell gate. It was giving off a strange, evil light and hundreds of demons were rushing out into the land.  
  
”Oh, crap! What do we do?” Griffon flapped, asking V. Shadow growled by V’s feet.  
  
”We need to tell everyone what’s going on. It seems like the active hell gate was in Ferrum Hills all along.” V said. He picked up his transmitter and messaged everyone. Afterwards, without warning, he held onto your waist tightly as he ran towards the edge and jumped. Griffon strained under your and V’s weight, but he managed to drop the both of you just fine.  
  
You stood on the center of the town, with your backs to each other. You unsheathed your knives and held them defensively. Your knives glowed an intense red as a couple of demons noticed your presence. You cracked your neck and steadied yourself. The fear in your heart was somewhat lifted and was changed into something else: The intense desire to protect the people you love.  
  
”Fuck this shtick, man! After this, I want a raise!” Griffon complained as he dived into a group of Assaults. Shadow immediately rushed to attack a group of Frosts. V slowly walked to where his familiars were, making sure they had enough energy to fight. You ran to the other side and faced off with a group of Blitz and Scarecrows.  
  
You kicked one of the Scarecrows on the face, flinging it to a distant shop. Other Blitz decided to fire a thunderbolt at you, but you jumped at the right time and it ended up electrocuting some other demons in your area. You crouched down to avoid the slices of a few Scarecrows, and you swiped at their legs, causing them to tumble. You then got your Glock to shoot them on the head. You, then, threw your knife onto a Blitz that was about to attack Phantom. You then teleported onto its back, and decided to shoot it point blank. V was currently slicing off a few Scarecrows that his familiars have just killed. You ran towards the left side of the town to divert the attention of the demons from V to you.  
  
There were too many demons, you thought, too many for you and V to deal with by yourselves. Someone has to destroy the hell gate and someone has to deal with the rest of the demons in the town.  
  
You switched to a defensive stance, running away from a lot of Assaults and Frosts. However, a rogue Assault caught you off guard and struck you with its claw. It sent you flying into a shop, crushing the wooden door to pieces. Your arm ached as it landed on hard ground and you struggled to get up but something stopped you.  
  
Before you was a skeleton. Its skull looking straight at you without any eyes. Behind the skeleton was a giant cabinet, its wood rotting and weakening, and its doors slightly ajar. The place smelled of rotten wood, rusting metal, and acidic decay… but you knew exactly where you were. You were in the shop where your mother died… and that skeleton was all that remains of your mother.  
  
_I’m sorry, mom… _You thought. You couldn’t protect her before. You didn’t know how. You were weak and powerless. You didn’t even know how to use your knife for battle. But now, everything is different. You did change into a brand new person, but that brand new person was physically strong now. You still had to grapple with your feelings of loss, and you knew it would take very long… but you were fine. You’ve survived this far, and you are only going to make it even farther. You were going to deal with your issues, your feelings of loss and grief, and use all of that to become even stronger. You were willing to do that so that you could protect your new family.  
  
You rushed outside to see the battle still ongoing. You heard from your transmitter that Dante and Nero were on the way, while Trish and Lady were riding in the van with Nico headed to Ferrum Hills. You knew you had to distract these demons while you waited for them to return. A lot of the demons were around V now. His hair was white, as he has all three of his familiars out and fighting for him. You looked around, trying to see what else you could do. You fired at a few Scarecrows trying to attack him, drawing some of their attention onto you. You ran towards them and threw your knives into their heads. However, a giant Blitz appeared out of nowhere and time seemed to go in slow motion.  
  
You saw Dante and Nero jump from the side of the hill you jumped from, and you also could hear Nico’s van rushing to the site. V’s hair turned black once again as Nightmare, his golem familiar, returned to him after being fully used. Griffon and Shadow also retreated into their balls of energy, trying to regroup and regenerate. V ran to where they were, trying to stand there and hasten their recovery. However, you saw the giant Blitz charge up a tremendous shot, its eyes staring directly at V.  
  
Without thinking, you ran to where V was. The Blitz roared as he let loose a huge lightning bolt towards V’s direction. V couldn’t react because he was distracted in trying to heal his familiars but right before the bolt could hit him, you pushed him with your sprained arm and shoved him out of the way. Your body was then hit by the lightning bolt, sending burning electricity through every fiber of your being. You screamed in pain as your back was flung to the side of the hill.  
  
”Knives!” V screamed for you. Nero and Dante saw what had happened. Dante immediately rushed to the Blitz to take care of it. Nero ran to V and pushed him towards your direction, “Go to Knives, V. We can handle this. Go!”  
  
V made haste to where you were. You were laying down on the ground, your body stinging with pain. Every slight movement send jolts of electricity up your spine and causing you a lot of discomfort. You felt V kneel down next to you. He flipped you over so that you could face him. You winced in pain as he held your head with his arm, your shoulders rested against his knee and thigh.  
  
”Knives, you’re hurt!” He was clearly confused as to what’s going on, “Why did you do that?”  
  
You smiled despite the pain. You felt your eyes water again as you reached out to touch his face, several jolts of pain rushing through every fiber of your body. You ignored them as you made V face you.  
  
”I had to…” You muttered, raw pain seeping through your lips, “…protect you.” V gasped, hearing you speak your first sentence. He clasped your hand on his cheek and looked at you intensely. You felt the light slowly leaving you and you saw the world starting to go dark. You smiled at V once more, tears streaming down your eyes. You said, “You’re family. My family.”  
  
The last thing you remember was hearing V call out your name and being lifted to be taken somewhere. After that, everything was black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OHOHOHOHOH HOW'S THAT, FAM???? Knives finally speaks!
> 
> I had a lot of trouble writing down this chapter because writing about being exposed to what triggers you... sort of triggers me. But, I guess, in a way, it helped me write down what Knives was experiencing.
> 
> Lots of V being a good soft boi in this chapter too, and you could see how much he's supportive and caring... like how I imagine he always is, anyway. 
> 
> ANYWAY!!! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please continue to read my story... and for everyone who has given out their kudos and comments, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! And also, even if you just read this fanfiction of mine without leaving a trace, I still thank you from the bottom of my heart. <3 It really REALLY means a lot.


	6. Saudade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saudade (Portuguese)  
“The feeling of longing for an absent something or someone that you love but might never return.”

V was running towards Nico’s van with Nero guarding his back. His legs were screaming and his arms were starting to go numb. He knew he was too physically weak to carry you, but the moment you closed your eyes and went limp, he immediately took you into his arms and ran to safety. Dante ordered Nero to guard V while he and the ladies destroyed the hell gate and kill the demons in the area. When you arrived at the van, Nero practically swung the door open and screamed at Nico to hurry up and leave. Nico then kicked the gears of the van and it started roaring into the opposite direction as soon as she saw V bring you in. V laid you down onto the couch. He removed all of your weapon holsters and laid them on the dining table across the van. He tried to kneel beside you, worried about your condition, but Nico angrily barked at him.

“V, are you crazy?! Go sit your ass down or I will stop this van and drag you to a chair!”   
  
V planted his cane onto his side to stand up. He looked at you for a moment and noticed that your face was no different from how you looked when you were sleeping… however, you were turning a bit blue. He shoved his worry to the side for now and decided to sit shotgun beside Nico.  
  
”What happened back there?” Nico said, still rushing through trees and some wooden structures.  
  
”A Blitz… an abnormally big one.” V said, huffing, “It shot a bolt at me, but Knives pushed me out of the way.”  
  
”She pushed you out of the way, huh?” Nico smirked, two hands on the wheel making a sharp turn to the left. The van swayed too far, it almost toppled over, but it regained its balance right on time.  
  
”Knives, she…” V frowned, hiding behind his fringe. His eyes confused and puzzled, “She… spoke.”  
  
”What?” Nico had to second guess what V said, “You mean out loud?”  
  
”Yes.” V answered, abruptly and curtly.

“Well, massage my tits and call me momma. I’ll be damned.” Nico practically hummed. V looked at Nico, not quite understanding what she meant. She hit every bump on the road that made V hang onto the dashboard a few times and look behind you on the couch to see if you were doing okay. You were still unconscious and still quite blue, but he could see your chest rising and falling, which meant you were still breathing.  
  
”V.” Nico called his attention, “I hope you know what this all means.”  
  
”What?” V asked, his voice straining from hanging onto the dashboard again.  
  
”Knives.” Nico pointed at your unconscious frame with an unlit cigarette, “She’s put her life on the line for you. She’s turning fuckin’ blue, for fuck’s sake! To top it all off, she spoke out loud… to you, of all people.” She lit her cigarette while looking at the road, “That’s the first time she’s ever spoken in years!”  
  
Nico’s words were weighing heavily on V. Everything you’ve ever done for him crossed into his mind, like a parasite that has just gotten a taste of its first blood. For some reason, that poem you wrote a few days ago resurfaced into his consciousness. He remembers the words you’ve written down:  
  
_My heart is a dead language_  
_and yet you_  
_pronounce every word_  
_perfectly and in time_

_My heart, a dusty tome_   
_and yet you_   
_turn my pages_   
_time and time again_

_My heart is a silent ocean_   
_but you, dearest_   
_are the wind that blows_   
_and causes ships to sink_

_My heart, oh, my heart_   
_is yours_   
_but only_   
_if you wanted it_

_I own not your heart_   
_but sometimes,_   
_I like to pretend_   
_that I do_

_But, my heart knows_   
_that in the morning_   
_your heart can_   
_and will only belong to you_

_So, my heart, ever so broken_   
_will always be silent_   
_For my heart longs for yours_   
_but its words can never be_   
_spoken_

“My heart is yours…” V spoke slowly, realizing bit by bit what the poem meant, “…but only if you wanted it.”  
  
”What the fuck are you reciting, V?” Nico took another sharp turn before they entered the industrial complex. Nico had to run over a few Scarecrows along the way.  
  
”Knives. She wrote a poem…” V was sounding more fragmented as he muddled over the words of the poem. “That’s what she said.”  
  
”Uh-huh. No shit, Shakespeare.” Nico said, sarcastically. She was getting so tired of V not getting the picture. She knew that V felt something for Knives as well. Nero told her that fact… but she was more annoyed that V was too dense to even understand how you felt, especially now that you were practically dying.

  
”I don’t…” V started to say. He remembered your words on the battle field. You told him he was your family… but Nico cut him and his thoughts off.  
  
”What? You don’t understand? I think you do, buddy boy.” Nico swerved to avoid the metal scaffolds, making the wheels screech so loud, “Why don’t you say it?”  
  
”I---” V mumbled, looking at his hands gripping the dashboard.  
  
”Well, fuck. That’s it!” Nico said, her voice dripping with annoyance. She stomped on the breaks and the van went to a screeching halt. Dust gathered around the van as it shook into silence. This was the final straw. Nico didn’t care if you were too shy or too embarrassed to tell V. She decided that V needed to know.  
  
”I don’t know if you’re dumb, dense, or just utterly too full of yourself.” Nico practically lectured V, “But there is only one reason a girl would put her life on the line AND do something that she hasn’t done in years for someone she just saved.” V had his eyes closed, massaging his temples. This was all too much.  
  
”Knives loves you, V!” Nico practically screamed it out loud, her arms raised in the air in exasperation. This caused V’s neck to snap and his eyes to stare at her, like he just told her an earth-shattering revelation. “She told me and Nero the morning after we came back to Red Grave City. She told us you almost kissed her and she ran away from you because…” Nico’s voice softened a bit. Now her tone was a bit sad, almost like a helpless mother looking at her daughter who was in pain, “…she wanted you to kiss her, but she was too scared.” Nico paused, waiting for V to respond. When she was met with silence, she continued, “Then, she and I talked during dinner when Nero talked to you in the van. She wrote down that she found out she was dealing with all of her problems in the worst way possible, and that she never let anyone in because she was so scared, anxious, and uncertain of everyone all the time. She found out why she didn’t want to talk, and it was because of her mother. She even wrote down that she knew she loves you, but she can’t tell you just yet because she still has her own issues to fix… and that she can’t love you the way you needed to be loved, if she can’t even love herself enough to fix her own shit.”  
  
Nico was met with more silence from V. Filled with raging exasperation and an overall exhaustion, Nico hit V on his head with her open, calloused palm. Nico then huffed at him and said, “Knives might get mad at me for telling you if she wakes up, but you need to know. Nero told me that you like Knives, too. In the name of all things good and beautiful, get your dick out of your own ass and man the fuck up. What are you so scared of?”  
  
V looked at Nico, his eyes were now clear and sincere. Then, he looked at you from the couch, unconscious. He stood up and sat on the dining chair across the couch. Nico gave a satisfied hum and started the van again. This time, she drove at a more leisurely speed.  
  
_”You’re family. My family.” _He remembered you saying. For as long as he could remember, he has always been alone. He’s always craved for that feeling of being loved and protected but he was always met with frustration because he was alone. He remembered that feeling of isolation as both himself and as his old self, Vergil. Vergil focused too much on survival that slowly, he forgot what it meant to be human. He began to look for power to the point of pushing his human body to the limit. When he was about to break, he decided to split himself and create V. V carried with him the pain of the loss and the loneliness. Even now that Vergil was gone, it was still there, ever present and ever making itself known.  
  
But then, you came into the picture. He remembered walking into Devil May Cry in order to ask Dante to take on the job that he was too weak to finish. While talking to Dante, you walked out of the kitchen. You were silent, but your presence was slowly clawing for his attention. When Dante accepted the job, he introduced Trish, Lady, and you to him. Out of all of the women, you were the only one who smiled at him. That smile caught him off guard… and probably that was where it all started. Unknown to him, that was when he started falling for you.  
  
At first, he simply relied on you during battles. Then, as the missions progressed, he became curious of you. He wanted to get to know you better, but like everyone else in the shop, you frustrated each and every one of them. He wanted to hear your voice and make you speak. He wanted to initiate any reaction from you… and it was only then that he realized that the only reason he wanted you to react to him was so that he no longer feels like he’s alone and that he’s insignificant. Your smiles, ever so bright and warm, always made him feel like he was special. Your presence always made him feel like he had a home. And now, with Nico telling him of your feelings, he knew for sure.  
  
You were his family, too. He loves you so, so, so much. As much as you wanted to love him and protect him, he found that he, in himself, wanted to love and protect you as well.  
  
Nico took a few twists and turns until she reached the orphanage in Central Fortuna. There, she told V to carry you into one of the spare bedrooms. V held you tight, cradling your body on his chest. You were still very warm, so that meant you were doing just fine. V laid you down onto a bed with white sheets. He removed your boots and placed your bare feet on the bed along with your motionless body. Nico came in with some form of machine and she extracted all the demonic electricity still lingering in your body, in essence returning your skin color back to its regular shade. She removed your black shirt to reveal a white tank top underneath. V observed that you were breathing more slowly now, as if you were more comfortable and relaxed. V, then, grabbed a blanket and tucked you in. Afterwards, he pulled a chair to sit beside you as you laid unconscious.   
  
He then reached out for your hand. He placed it close to his face and pressed it close to his lips. With a kiss, he pleaded to you, “Please wake up… my little wanderer.”  
  
\----------

The night fell upon the entire land of Fortuna. V saw the streets slowly light up, light post after light post. Some of the orphanage attendants entered the room to flip the switch to turn the lights on and to give V his meal, although if he was to be honest with himself, he didn’t really feel like eating. He just looked at you with your unmoving body and your steady breathing. The rising and falling of your chest gave V the sense of comfort he needed. He knew you were alive… but he just wished he could do something to ease your pain or to thank you for putting yourself on the line for him. He leaned in, his hands in front of his face, his index fingers covering his nose and his thumbs resting on his chin. He noticed how childlike your features were, how you had delicate eyelashes, a button nose, and plump lips. He longed to see those lips move, and to hear you say his name to him.  
  
You saying his name would be you acknowledging that he exists… that he is no longer alone.  
  
”Heeeeey. Knock, knock.” A voice entered the room. It was deep and gravely. Matched with the smell of dust, demon blood, and musky body spray, V could surmise that it was Dante. V didn’t really feel like talking but he looked at Dante and gave him a curt nod.  
  
Dante walked towards the bed and sat at the bottom end. Dante looked at you with a type of gentleness that only a man like Dante could ever give. It was a gentle wave of care behind the hyper masculine facade. He put his hand on your knee and tapped it ever so softly. Dante then asked V, “How is she?”  
  
”She’s doing alright, all things considered.” V replied, not looking at Dante. He continued to look at you, “She’s still asleep, though…”  
  
”What she did in that battlefield for you was really something, huh?” Dante muttered with a slight chuckle.  
  
”Hmm…” V replied indecisively. V decided to change the subject, “What are you doing back, Dante?”  
  
”Oh, me?” Dante answered, obviously exaggerating his hand gesture to the chest, “After tearing down the hell gate in Ferrum Hills, we decided to kill off the remaining demons. Them little cretins ran to Fortuna Castle, so I had Nero, Trish, and Lady handle everything.” Dante shrugged, “I simply went back ‘cause I was tired. You know, old age gets all of us in time.”  
  
V’s eyes narrowed as he rolled his eyes, “You’re lying, Dante. If you want to lie to me of all people, you can do better.”

“You know, sometimes I wonder if we really did kill off Vergil because you actually sound exactly like him from time to time.” Dante mentioned, a hint of humor was in his tone. Dante looked at you once more and he sighed. Looking weak, he admitted, “Actually, I went home because I was worried about Knives.”  
  
V sat up properly, giving Dante the respect he deserves for actually telling the truth. Dante continued, “That Blitz was pretty gargantuan. One shot of its lightning bolt might’ve been equivalent to ten lightning bolts from a regular Blitz. If I, Nero, or Trish was the ones who were hit, I wouldn’t be this worried because we’re either hybrids or full demons. We won’t die that easily. Then, there’s you who’s human… but you have demonic familiars, and I’m pretty sure that would keep you safe. But Knives…”  
  
V looked at you again. Your eyelids flickered, giving both V and Dante the clue that you might’ve been dreaming. Dante tapped your knee again, a bit firmly this time. It gave a soft thud against the fabric of the blanket you were wrapped it, “Knives is human. She might be strong, physically… but she would still stand no chance when it comes to an attack that big.” He tapped your knee again, “I’m actually really surprised that she’s still alive even after what happened.”  
  
”She got hit because she was protecting me.” V confessed. “According to Nico, she only did that because…” V paused, unsure whether to tell Dante the truth.  
  
”Because…?” Dante inched closer to V, his ear pointing directly at the black haired man on the chair.

“...because she loves me.” V finished his sentence. There was a feeling of peace into his words, but ripples of fear muddled that peace. It made it temporary and only dragged V further and further into the dark.  
  
”Huh.” Dante let out a breath from his lips, “I was wondering when she’d ever spit that secret of hers out.”  
  
V knit his brows into a questioning frown. He stared at Dante with such intensity, it almost filled up the room with static electricity, “You… knew?”  
  
”Duh, of course I knew.” Dante muttered, trying to look a bit insulted, “I own Devil May Cry. What kind of an owner would I be if I wasn’t knowledgeable in issues like this?” Dante stood up and moved to the other side of the bed, closer to where your head was. Dante put his hand on your forehead and moved his hand to your crown, “I’ve always known that she liked you. I’ve known it since the day you two first met. I saw how she smiled at you when I introduced you, and how you _ever so slightly_ winced in discomfort… just like my brother would. Knives is a very caring person and too mature for her young age. She fights hard and she fights well, but she’s only ever protected one person in battle.” Dante pointed a finger at V, “And that’s you, my man.”  
  
V listened carefully. Dante was saying words but he was still digesting its true meaning. Dante continued as he continued to pat your head, “Now, none of you might have been aware of this, but I was watching the both of you. Later on, Knives would act all weird whenever you were close to her… like she was going to die from forgetting to breathe or something. I thought she was starting to accept the fact that she has a crush on you. But to make matters worse, you kept lingering around her and trying to get her to talk. I’ve never seen you put in that much effort on a single person. You were also there to make sure she never gets upset or angry. Upon observing that, I thought that maybe… _maybe_… Knives stood a chance with you because you liked her too. With that, I decided to help you out. I tried to give her advice on how she could start talking again… with the hopes that she finally tells you how she feels. Then, this mission in Fortuna happened, and well… the rest is history.”  
  
Dante paused and looked at you. You shifted your head to the side, now it was facing V. Dante smiled slightly, and decided to tuck you further into your blanket, “See? Even now when she’s asleep, she still chooses to look at you.”  
  
”Dante, I…” V silently fumbled over his words. He was so unsure if he wanted to dig in deeper into the issue or to just simply thank Dante.  
  
”Look, I understand that you’re V now but I also know that Vergil’s memories are still with you somehow. I know that we were so young when we lost our mother. However, I know you’re _human_ enough to accept the fact that she died to look for you because she loves you. That’s what family is. You would risk your life just to know that someone you love is safe. Knives protected you at the expense of her own life. She took a lightning strike for you just to keep you safe. I don’t know about you, but…” Dante stood up, taking one final look at you, “Nothing speaks the word “love” louder than sacrificing your life for someone else.” Dante then marched to the door and, with his back to you, he waved, “Well, that’s all I have to say, V. Good fucking luck.”

\----------

It took the crew another entire day to fully flush out the demons in Fortuna and kick the society that rebuilt the hell gates’ ass. V, in his efforts to distract himself, tried to join the battle but both Dante and Nero stopped him, telling him they’ve got this and someone needed to stay with you in case you woke up. V could only curse under his breath but decided to remain by your side for longer. You would occasionally whimper or grunt in your sleep, but you still mostly remained unconscious.  
  
V tried to preoccupy himself with reading his book on the chair by your bed. Sometimes, he’d even recite poems for you hoping you’d hear him in your dreams. After he’d read, he’d look at you ever so briefly and he’d always see a faint smile grace your small face. He’d trace his finger on your cheeks just to see if you were still asleep. When you didn’t open your eyes, he’d sigh and return to reading.  
  
He sought comfort in his tome of William Blake poems. The book was a rich burnt umber. Its corners were frayed and a bit weathered. Gold filigree danced on the covers and the gold inlay showed a large “V” in front. He usually lacked the words to express how he felt but something about Blake’s poetry always tugged at him from the inside. William Blake focused on the duality of man, the inherent goodness of innocence, and the lamentations of a man in turmoil… all were topics that V himself often thought about.   
  
”Mmm…” You grumbled in your sleep, making V suddenly look at you to see if you were alright. When you regained your composure and relaxed in your sleep once more, V recoiled back into his chair. He sighed again and opted to return to reading… however, his attention was led to a piece of paper peeking through his book pages. This paper was new since it was too white in comparison to the already yellowed pages of his book. He traced his fingers to where the paper peeked out and slowly pulled it out. He squinted to see clear and beautiful cursive, every stroke practically dancing on the paper. The blue ink pressed so pristine on the crisp, white paper made V realize what he had in his hands.  
  
It was the William Blake poem that you wrote for him that night when he and you were alone in the shop. His eyes darted through every line, his heartbeat beating in time.  
  
_Never seek to tell thy love_  
_Love that never told can be_  
_For the gentle wind does move_  
_Silently invisibly_

_I told my love I told my love_   
_I told her all my heart_   
_Trembling cold in ghastly fears_   
_Ah she doth depart_

_Soon after she was gone from me,_   
_A traveller came by,_   
_Silently, invisibly:_   
_He took her with a sigh_

This poem was about a love that, when spoken out loud, was rejected and repulsed. It was the poem he recited to you and asked you to write down. It’s true that he has practically memorized all of William Blake’s poetry, but he dug into his brain for the reason why he chose this particular poem for you to write down. His chest burned with a pain that he has never known. His throat was warm and stinging. His breathing became stressed and shallow. And as his realization came into fruition, he looked at you.  
  
And… you were smiling.

That smile of yours brought him comfort, peace, and a sense of home. To V, it was probably the most beautiful thing to ever exist. It felt like an anchor around his core, always leading him back to where he belongs. Your smile was like that moon in the ocean from when you were on the ferry boat, looking at the sky. He felt like he was in the middle of nowhere, but one sight of you made him see that he wasn’t alone… and that you were there, always lighting the way for him. He was someone you protected and loved, and you gave him purpose and the desire to continue living in this pathetic planet you call Earth.  
  
He belonged to you, and you belonged to him. You were family.  
  
V gasped as he looked at you, sleeping soundly on the bed. The smile still evident on your lips. He stood up from his chair and knelt beside the bed. He held onto your hand, and placed it over his lips for a kiss. V held you hand with both of his own and for the first time in his life, he prayed to no one in particular. He wished to see you open your eyes. He wished for you to wake up and see him.  
  
People have told him that you love him. Nico did. Dante did. He even thought Nero did too, albeit indirectly. He felt it in his heart that it was only right that he told you himself… that he loves you and wants to be with you, no matter what it took.

\----------

The entire crew decided to rest for the evening and to catch the early morning ferry boat at Port Caerula. You remained asleep the entire time, so when it was time for everyone to go home, V had to carry you down the stairs and put you into Nico’s van again.  
  
By this time, everyone practically knew about how you and V felt about each other but, out of decency and respect, decided to keep their distance. Nico and Nero helped V out inside the van, telling him to catch some sleep while they kept watch over you. He rested his head and slept on his hands on the dining table while you slept on the couch. By the time they reached Red Grave City, the sun has already fully risen into its noontime level. Kyrie was in the shop waiting for the crew to come home. Morrison was right beside her, smoking his cigar as always. Since V just woke up upon arriving at the shop, Dante volunteered to carry you back into your room.  
  
”Dude, you’ve been taking care of Knives for two days straight. You deserve a break.” Dante told V as he nudged Nero to drag V into their room. V then released Griffon and Shadow and asked them to watch you by your bedside, to which they agreed. Then, V decided to get a long, hot shower and tried to get his thoughts in order. While he was in the shower, Kyrie went to your bedroom and decided to change your clothes and give you a towel bath.  
  
The evening came and Nico volunteered to drive Kyrie back to Fortuna with the van (of course, with the complaint that she’s turning into the shop’s official driver). Lady decided to tag along to give Nico and Kyrie some company. Trish decided to go out to the weapons shop to buy new equipment and to upgrade her guns. Dante and Nero decided to go to the shooting range, trying to outdo each other in a gun shooting match to unwind. That left V to tend to the shop and to look after you, by now unsure if you were ever going to wake up.  
  
The evening air greeted you as you weakly opened your eyes. There was a dull pain on your spine and all your fingers and toes were numb. At first you didn’t recognize where you were, but upon a longer look, you realized you were back in your room. You were all back in Red Grave City. You look down to see your clothes have been changed. You were now wearing a plain white spaghetti strap shirt and cotton drawstring shorts. You thought either one of the girls must’ve changed you. Although Dante changing you wouldn’t be far from the truth either.  
  
You ran your fingers through your hair to think about your last memory. In your mind, you saw a giant Blitz attacking V with a lightning bolt… and you remembered taking the hit for him. Then, you remembered…  
  
…that you talked. Out loud. To him.   
  
Your jaw dropped as you recalled, but you knew exactly why you did that. You thought about your conversation with Dante before you left for Fortuna. He told you he was dealing with the chips he had left. You thought… you speaking was you dealing with the chips _you_ had left. You looked to your bedside table and saw the picture of you and your mom in a brand new frame. Silently, you thanked whoever decided to put it there. You put your hand on your chest and took a deep breath. The fear, the hate, the anger… they were no longer there. You accepted that your mother was gone… but she was still with you, in a way. She was in Nico’s sisterly bantering. She was in Nero’s scruffy attitude. She was in Trish’s toughness and in Lady’s persistence. She was in Dante’s dependability… and she was also in V’s silence.  
  
”Oh!” You heard a voice from the top of the cabinets. You found Griffon perched there and, upon looking at the bottom of your bed, you found Shadow. You turned your bedside lamp on and looked at them with questioning eyes.  
  
”You stay put, little lady. I’mma call V for ya.” Griffon said, flying away, “Come on, you big kitty.” Shadow pounced after him towards the door. You could hear his wings flapping away into the first floor. He practically screamed that you were awake. Moments after that, you could hear some running up the stairs and before you knew it, there he was… peeking through your door.  
  
”Knives.” V said, almost as if he couldn’t believe his eyes, “You’re awake. You’re alright.” He slowly made his way towards the side of your bed. You noticed he wasn’t carrying his cane with him. You smiled at the fact that he must’ve really been in a hurry to see you if he forgot his cane.

He knelt in front of you and looked up at you. There was silence in the air and you knew he was waiting for you to speak. This time, though, you weren’t in the mood to frustrate anyone. Well, at least not V.  
  
With a big smile on your face, you opened your mouth to say:  
  
”Hello.”  
  
You saw how his worried face melted away into a giant smile that matched yours. He lifted his hands but he didn’t know where to put them, so you simply lifted yours out and offered them to him. To which, he accepted.  
  
You laughed at him and said, “You know, you’re going to have really sore knees if you keep kneeling like that.”  
  
He simply stared at you and held your hands tightly, “I’m so sorry. It’s just…” He sighed, “...you’re finally talking.”  
  
”Mhmm…” You nodded. You tapped the side of your bed, inviting him to have a seat. He got up on his feet and moved to the side of your bed. Griffon and Shadow hastily excused themselves and told V that they’d be downstairs. Shadow closed the door with a flick of his tail and then you were met with silence once more.

V didn’t let go of your hands, and he simply kept looking at it. His long black hair blocked your view of his face, making it impossible to tell what he’s currently feeling. You tried to diffuse the silence by asking him questions.  
  
”Umm… so how’s Fortuna?” _Silence._  
  
”Did Dante and the others destroy the hell gates?” _More silence._  
____  
__You sighed as you realized that he might not be into the small talk so you decided to get to the important parts.  
  
”Do you know why I took a lightning strike for you?” You said, caressing his hands with your thumbs.  
  
”Yes…” You heard V whisper, almost inaudibly.  
  
”Tell me why.” You coaxed him gently.   
  
”Nico, Nero, and Dante… they’ve been telling me why. But…” V mumbled, his voice raspy and deep, “Would it be too much if I asked _you_ to tell me the reason?”  
  
”Hmm…” You exhaled a long breath. Softly, your lips curled into a smile as you looked at V before you. He was like a cat who was trying to make sure he was safe with you. One wrong move and he might dart away. He wasn’t even looking at you.  
  
”Alright.” You answered him. You felt a slight apprehension grow in your core, but you knew better now than to let it take hold of you, “But I want you to look at me when I say it.”  
  
V lifted his head, his hair covering half his face. You removed your hands from his grip and tucked his hair behind his ear. You always adored how his face looked like during the nighttime… it’s such a shame that he always has to hide it with his hair. You closed your eyes, took a deep breath, and released it through your lips. Along with your breath, you tried to release all the apprehension and fear you felt.   
  
_This is it._ You thought. _Now or never._  
  
You looked into V’s eyes, his dark emerald green eyes looking into yours. You swore you could feel yourself drowning in them. You let your hand rest on his cheek and you smiled solemnly.  
  
”I did that…” You confessed, “…because I love you.”__  
______  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is very V-centric, considering that reader-chan was still very unconscious and asleep after practically saving V's life. BUT HEY! WE HAVE A CONFESSION. I REPEAT: WE HAVE A CONFESSION.
> 
> And, this is a good time to re-read all my previous chapters. Because by then, you'd find all of the clues to V and reader's actions and go "aaaaaaaahhhh!!!! So that's why!"
> 
> And, I am currently working on the next chapter so... please wait for it. It's gonna be... hmmm... quite the chapter. *wink wink* If you get what I mean.
> 
> Thank you so much for taking the time to read this fic! Thank you for leaving your kudos and commenting. I really really appreciate it. You guys are golden.


	7. Torschlusspanik

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Torschlusspanik(German)  
Means "gate-closing panic"
> 
> This is the fear that time is running out. It describes the panic you get when you realize one day that in actual fact, you haven’t done very much with your life, and if you don’t act soon then you may miss out on more opportunities as time passes and the ‘gate closes’.

“With all due respect, dude, but… what the fuck?!” Nero sat on the edge of his bed, looking exasperated. His bed was right beside the door, his body was facing the bed near the window, where V was laying down, his face buried in a pillow… He’s been like that ever since Nero, Dante, and Trish came home. Nico and Lady aren’t due back until the next morning, so Nero mentally cursed himself with the burden of informing Nico afterwards.  
  
”Dude, just…” Nero grappled for words, “What the actual fuck is wrong with you?” He then slumped into his own bed, hands spread wide open, “I can’t believe you would just leave Knives hanging like that after she _fucking confessed to you._”  
  
V remembered everything that happened earlier in the evening. He was downstairs in his reading chair, trying to read a book to distract himself over how worried he was about you. He was starting to think that you were never going to wake up (even if all evidence points to the contrary). But then, Griffon and Shadow practically darted towards him and told him that you were finally awake. Before he could even think, he raced upstairs to see you sitting up at the side of your bed. You looked a bit drained and a bit spent… but that didn’t change the fact that he thought you were beautiful. He approached you and before he could even say anything, you spoke again. He felt his brain stop working from then on. You asked him questions but he couldn’t hear any of them. He was still not over the fact that you were _actually speaking_. Then, you asked him if he knew why you took that blow for him… and to be honest, he knew what people were telling him, but he wanted to know what your truth was. In the back of his mind, he imagined you repeating “…because you’re my family” and he wouldn’t really think too much of it. It would’ve upset him that his feelings for you would be family-zoned, but he thought he was willing to let it go.

But you had to open your mouth and confess that you love him, backing up what everyone has been telling V ever since you fell unconscious.  
  
He felt his brain snap and lose all logic. He broke his hold of you, and with a pathetic “Excuse me, I need to do something…”, he marched his way out of your room and entered his. He then planted his face onto his pillow, unsure of (in the words of Nero himself) what the fuck he’s doing.

“I panicked.” V mumbled, lifting the pillow from his mouth so he could be heard.  
  
”Duuuuuuuuude…” Nero’s exasperation was reaching a brand new limit of high, “When a girl _whom you also love by the way_ tells you that they love you, you don’t panic! That’s the last thing you do!” Nero sat back up again, pointing aggressively at V, “You should be back there, holding her and kissing her and all that good shit!”  
  
V let out a growl of uneasiness then covered his entire face back with the pillow. Nero clicked his tongue at him, “Sometimes I wonder who’s the bigger chicken: You or Griffon.”  
  
”I think…” V let out a tired sigh, “…that would be me, for the time being.” He buried his face further into the pillow, half hoping that he would suffocate himself to death.  
  
\----------

_ _

The morning light woke you up from your slumber. The day was just starting and the sun was just starting to peek over the rooftops. You opened your eyes and decided to lay in bed for a bit.  
  
_This is it. First day of talking again…_ You huffed as you thought. You anticipated how everyone might react to you, your voice, or your thoughts. You knew that, aside from V, no one has ever heard you speak before. You knew you were going to start a riot before you can even say hello.  
  
Your head turned to the direction of the door and you imagined V’s reaction last night after you told him you love him. The look on his face was really hard to read. Had you been a bit dumb or lacking in any interaction with him, he actually looked… angry. He had his brows furrowed and he diverted his eyes from you. After he excused himself, you knew that he wasn’t going to come back. So, your heart was still a bit bruised but in the years of letting shit accumulate in your life, you knew you had bigger fish to fry.  
  
”Oh well…” You said out loud. You wiped your face with your hands, trying to remove the feelings of uneasiness and uncertainty, and decided to get up from your bed. You went to the bathroom to wash your face. You decided to put on a light gray hoodie to cover yourself up a bit. You tied your hair up in a messy bun and looked at yourself in the mirror. For a moment, you didn’t see yourself, but your mother.  
  
You really do look like her, you thought. But at least, this time that realization didn’t trigger any unwanted thoughts.  
  
You opened the door and the noise that greeted you made you doubt whether or not you actually slept in today. You looked back at the clock in the room and it read six o’clock. You wondered where all the noise was coming from. You took a few steps down the stairs. You saw that Lady and Nico were back. In fact, Nico just came from the kitchen, carrying a big stew pot. Lady and Dante were talking at Dante’s desk. Trish was helping out Nero with something back in the lobby and V…  
  
…was nowhere to be found.  
  
You had to admit, you felt a bit disappointed. However, you shook your head and decided that now wasn’t the right time for emotions like that. You continued to make your way down and the first to notice you was Lady. She immediately raced towards you.  
  
”Knives!” She said, hugging you really tight. You were coughing when she let you go, “You’re finally awake!”  
  
Lady’s voice drew Nero and Trish before you, cautiously seeing if you were alright. Dante leaned back into his chair and put his feet up on his desk, looking pretty satisfied that he saw you up on your feet again. Nico almost dropped the stew pot she was carrying and hurried to the garage. She came back into the shop with V in tow. V was outside this entire time, you thought. Your heart still tinged, but that thought made you smile a bit.  
  
”We were worried you were never going to wake up.” Trish said, her voice bordering on motherly.  
  
Your smile deepened. You realized that these people --- your new family --- were really worried about you. You have to apologize to them later, but for now…  
  
”Hey.” You spoke to them for the first time.  
  
”Color my socks pink and tickle me stupid! You really are speaking again!” Nico offered you a high-five, but she was too tall that you had to stand on your tiptoes in order to give it to her.  
  
”So _that’s_ what you sound like.” Lady smiled at you, crossing her hands in front of her with a satisfied grin, “You sound… pretty cute.”  
  
”How are you feeling?” Dante stood up and tucked you under his arm. He then started messing up your hair. You tried to swat his hands away, but he continued to mess your hair up. Once he was done, you redid your messy bun and laughed.  
  
”I’m fine, Dante.” You giggled. Every time you spoke, everybody’s eyes sparkled a bit. You’ve forgotten… but it really does feel good when you know for certain that people understand you. Your thoughts weren’t offensive or ugly… they were simply thoughts. Take ‘em or leave ‘em. You needed to learn that once more.  
  
It turns out, once Nico and Lady got home and everyone was informed that you were already alright, everyone decided to make sure breakfast was ready to give you a few hours to sleep in. Nico decided to make some beef and chili, Trish and Nero decided to clean up the shop quite a bit, and Dante and Lady decided to fix your schedule for the week to help you recover further. The only person who didn’t seem to be doing absolutely anything was V… although, knowing the crew, you knew that they gave V something to do.  
  
Once Nico was done cooking, everyone got their servings and decided to settle down on their place in the shop. Nero had to stop at the jukebox and play “When A Man Loves A Woman” by Michael Bolton and throw finger guns at V. You saw how V sort of recoiled into himself after that and you had that feeling in your gut that something was up. But you shoved the thought to the side because, as of now, everyone was throwing question after question at you.  
  
”So, first question: What do we call you now?” Dante said, his legs still up on his desk.  
  
”Uh… Knives?” You muttered, slightly baffled at why he’d ask that question.  
  
”I think what Uncle Dante wants to know…” Nero cut in, “…is what your real name is.”  
  
”Oh.” Your voice faded to mute. You put your spoon down and told everyone, “I don’t think I’m ready to tell any of you that yet.”  
  
”Why not???” Dante whined, his left eye giving you a discomforting wince.  
  
”Everything in its own time, Dante Sparda.” You called him by his entire name, pointing your spoon at him. Dante shrugged and gave up.  
  
Everyone flooded you with questions for hours. They asked for your account on how you met Dante, and you repeated that you met Dante as you crossed each other’s paths in Fortuna almost several months ago, killing a demon. They also asked you for how long you were selectively mute. You lowered your head and said, “Seven.” With that, everyone (except V who was probably lamenting something in his corner) had their jaws drop and became really thankful that you finally decide to talk. Nico asked you what made you take up knives as a weapon and you just shrugged and said, “When I ran to Mitis Forest, I only had a knife with me… so, that’s why, I guess?”. Nero asked you, as a joke, who your favorite person in the crew was. You answered “Nico” (to which she blushed and hit your back), but I think you all knew that really wasn’t the truth… but seeing how V was sulkier than usual today, you decided not to make things worse. Slowly but surely, you felt your sense of trust in everyone envelop you. It became easier and easier to talk, even if from time to time, you’d return to using gestures again. They would always tell you to use your words, to which you’d answer them out loud.

After a shit ton of questions, the clock suddenly rang and alerted everyone that it was already noontime. With a jump, you and Nico headed to the kitchen to wash the dishes side by side. There, Nico told you in a whisper:  
  
”Nero told me that ya sorta…” Nico looked around to see if anyone was there, “…told V you love him.”  
  
”…Yeah.” You said, scratching the back of your neck.  
  
”Heard he left ya hangin’.” Nico commented, scrubbing some plates with a passion.  
  
”…Yeah.” You said in the exact same tone as your previous answer. The jukebox on the outside of the kitchen just stopped playing its previous track and decided to play “Close To You” by The Carpenters next, and you decided to sigh because you felt the universe might’ve been messing with you right then and there.

With a wet hand, Nico put her hand around you, “Awww, don’t ya worry! Nero’ll probably think of somethin’. I know he gave V the lecture of a lifetime last night.”  
  
”What? He did?” You were shocked. Why would Nero even do something like that? You weren’t even sure if V liked you back. You were leaning towards the fact that he might not even like you that way, given how quickly he bounced from your room last night. You knew he held your hand a couple of times. He kept you company on the boat. He even hugged you when you were having your mental breakdown… but he could’ve done those just because you looked like a sickly kitten caught in the rain. It must’ve all been just because he pitied you… and you mentally reprimanded yourself for deluding yourself into thinking that he actually _likes_ you.  
  
”Well, he just thought that it wasn’t _gentlemanly_ of V to do what he did to ya.” Nico said, washing some more plates and utensils, “And Nero, being the knight and shining armor of the group, had to give it to V straight.”  
  
”Well…” You said, grabbing a sponge of your own and starting to scrub on a few pots, “Gentlemanly or not, I guess I just have to deal with my losses.”  
  
”Oh, don’t count this as a loss, just yet.” Nico nudged you with her elbow. Her glasses fell a little bit down her nose. She peeked out of the frame to wiggle her eyebrows at you. You laughed at her gesture and she decided to sprinkle some water on you. You retaliated and before you knew it, you were in a full-blown water fight.

\----------

“So…V.” Nero pulled up a chair and sat down in front of V, who was reading a different poetry book. You and Nico were having quite the fun time in the kitchen. He could hear you and Nico giggling as the sounds of splashing water took over. Nero looked at V, “Got any ideas? Any of those poets give you any hint?”  
  
”…No.” V muttered, sounding defeated, “I just don’t see how all of this…” He gestured to his entire bookshelf, “…is going to help with all of this.” He gestured to himself. “I know I made a giant mistake.”  
  
”Mistake, huh…?” Nero raised a sarcastic eyebrow, “You fucked up… Big time.”  
  
V sighed and closed his book. Just as he did, Dante came along and sat along with them on his own chair, “So, what are you boys talking about?”  
  
”V here left Knives hanging last night after she confessed.” Nero leaned into his backrest and gestured to V. V simply hung his head low. Dante looked at Nero, then to V, then he turned around to look at the kitchen where you were still having a water fight with Nico.  
  
”You left _her _hanging?” Dante pointed at your general direction and looked at V. V nodded and Dante huffed, “Well… she must _really_ love you, then.”  
  
”Why do you say that?” Nero asked the hulking guy beside him.  
  
”If she didn’t, she would’ve chased you and sliced your spine from your back. Then, she’d probably turn it into a kite.” Dante crossed his arms, “And from the looks of it, you still have your spine on you.”  
  
”Yeah, and I don’t understand how you’re thinking.” Nero shrugged at V. V could feel his face warming up. He didn’t want the other sons of Sparda to see that he was blushing, “Knives practically offered her life for you. By sheer dumb luck, she woke up. We’ve been telling you she loves you but you what? Didn’t you believe us?”  
  
”I did… but I wanted to hear it from her.” V answered, irritated with himself, “But… I don’t know… I wanted to hear it from her that you were wrong. Because, her loving me and me loving her… It’s…” He stammered.

“What? It’s…?” Nero inched closer to V, leaning forward on his knees, “Go on.”  
  
”It’s too complicated.” There was a solemn tone in V’s voice. Dante and Nero knew that wasn’t what he meant to say; a mismatch of meaning and feeling.  
  
”Ah…” A growl escaped Dante’s throat, “I don’t see what’s so complicated about it. Knives loves you. You love Knives. It sounds simple to me.” Dante gestured in the air as he looked for words, “But… it does sound hard. You’re gonna have to keep sticking out your necks for each other and…” He hit his knee to prove a point, “Both of you have intense issues.”__  
____  
__V knew that the only person who didn’t know how he felt about you… was you. He knew Dante could keep a secret, but he couldn’t count on Nico or Nero to do the same thing. This morning, when he came down into the lobby and saw how everybody was staring at him, he knew that Nero told everyone (Trish and Lady included) about how he miserably fucked up last night. Nico then dragged him to the garage and told him to think about what to say to you when you woke up. There he stayed until everyone started to crowd around you. He saw how you had your hair in a mess on your head and how whatever clothes you wore looked too big on you… but you still took his breath away. He tried looking for ways to approach you but Nico was always beside you. Besides, even if he could, he had no words to say. He found that he couldn’t put his feelings to words. No words contained enough depth or meaning to ever convey his true feelings… and on top of that, he was still ashamed of leaving you hanging last night. That ended up with him sitting in his chair, sulking in silence.  
  
The jukebox finished its previous song and now “Foolish Heart” by Peter Cetera played. As if on cue, you and Nico left the kitchen, both dripping wet from the water fight you just had. You were laughing at Nico, still sprinkling some water from your fingertips on her. Nico wagged her mop of a hair and sprayed you back with some water.  
  
_Foolish heart, hear me calling_  
_Stop before you start falling_

_Foolish heart, heed my warning_  
_You’ve been wrong before_  
_Don’t be wrong anymore__  
_  
The jukebox rang and spat lyrics at V as if it was trying to tell him something. Nero and Dante were looking at the two girls, having fun. Dante stood up and told them that if they were going to splash water everywhere, they were going to need to get a mop to dry everything. Nico waved at Nero as you climbed the stairs and returned to your room. V saw how Nico pointed at him then pointed at the general direction of the girls’ room. V seemed to think that Nico and Nero were silently communicating through gestures, and when Dante offered Nico the mop, she mopped away while wordlessly mouthing “Come on!”  
  
Nero let out a sharp breath and stood up, “Well. Here goes nothing.” Before V could ask what he meant, Nero grabbed V’s arm and fished him out of his seat. Nero dragged V up the stairs and into Nico’s bedroom. He was so strong that he practically threw V inside, and before V could do anything, Nero shut the door and locked it from the outside with a Devil Breaker, melting the doorknob and a part of the door.  
  
”Nero!” V slammed on the door with his cane.

“Sorry, dad!” Nero sang from behind the door, “Have fun!”  
  
”What the…?” Your voice murmured from behind V. You came from the bathroom, your hair now wrapped in a towel and you were wearing a different set of clothes. You were wearing a blue button down shirt and black shorts.  
  
”Nico and Nero must’ve talked about this…” V muttered to himself. He tried to turn the doorknob, only to be met with a solid slab of metal that refuses to move. He tried to push the door open, but it was futile.  
  
”Um…” You whispered with dread, “So, are we… stuck here?”  
  
”Looks like it.” V said, looking pretty defeated. You were puzzled and unsure whether his facial expression was because he couldn’t get out or because he was stuck in the room with you. You sighed as you made your way to your bed. V turned to you and asked you, “Couldn’t you do something about this?”  
  
You looked under your bed to look for your guns and your gun magazines, but you found that they were missing. You clicked your tongue in annoyance, “Damn it… Nico!” You rushed to the door and screamed, “Nico! Did you get my guns?!”  
  
_Silence._ But you could hear a faint trace of laughter from behind the door. You quietly cursed under your breath. You turned to face V, “How about you? Can’t you get Griffon or Shadow to do anything?”  
  
”They only attack things that attack me.” V explained, “A door wouldn’t do that.”  
  
”…Nightmare?” You shrugged as you thought of his last familiar.  
  
”Yeah, he might destroy the door…” V said sarcastically, “Along with this entire house.” He felt his blood boil in anger because Nero and Nico decided to leave him stranded inside a room with the person he liked without the proper words to explain how he felt. He looked at you to find you biting your lower lip and your gaze on the floor. Your towel was in your fidgeting hands, leaving your hair in a wet, messy tumble. Only then did he realize that his words might’ve contained venom that you didn’t know weren’t directed at you.  
  
The sun was starting to set and the room suddenly was starting to change into a shade of burnt orange. You sorrowfully placed your bath towel on the edge of your bed and rummaged at the bottom of you bedside table. Once you were back upright, you were holding a big bag of salted potato chips. You popped it open, and before you could get your first bite, you weakly smiled at V.  
  
”I think Nico wouldn’t mind if you sat down on her bed, but it smells like cigarette and a person who hasn’t taken a shower in weeks, so…” You told him, almost apologetically. He looked at Nico’s untidy bed and immediately decided to get closer to you, with a lot of reluctance in his heart. His heart was beating out of his chest as he sat beside you, making sure to keep a certain degree of distance between the both of you.  
  
”I’m having potato chips for dinner on my first day of talking again… Just great.” You muttered to yourself after swallowing a handful of chips. You offered V some but he refused. He looked at you, slowly putting the chips into your mouth and wondered why you wouldn’t talk about what happened last night.  
  
”Are you sure you don’t want to eat?” You asked, offering him the entire bag, “We can share. It’s fine.”  
  
”No, that’s…” V started, uncertain of how he was going to start talking to you. He closed his eyes, and sighed, “Are we not going to talk about what happened last night?”  
  
”What happened last night?” You repeated his question. You looked like you were feigning ignorance. You weren’t even looking at him. You were looking at your serving of chips and shaking your legs by the bed. In all honesty, you weren’t prepared to talk about it just yet. It was too soon and you’re still sorting your feelings out. It still doesn’t change that you love V. You love how he shyly looks at you and asks if you you’re alright. You love how his beautiful green eyes shine when he’s reading in silence. You also love it when he’s holding you close to him and for some reason, it feels like everything will be alright. However, based on his reactions last night and now, you really didn’t know where he stands. And until such time you were prepared to let him go, you didn’t want to know.  
  
”Knives, I…” V mentioned, “I don’t have the words…”  
  
You looked at him quizzically, “_You? _You don’t have words, even with all that poetry you read every day? For what…?” You chomped on another piece of potato chip, trying to hide your surprise.  
  
”In the past, I…” V mumbled. He crouched, resting his elbows on his knees and folding his hands together. With his head down, he said, “I just wanted to hear you talk. I wanted to hear your voice.”  
  
”I can imagine _everyone_ wanting to hear me talk.” You said, nonchalantly. You laid down on your bed and put the bag of chips on your chest. You stared at the ceiling in order to avoid having the chance to stare at V. He remained in his crouched position beside your legs.  
  
”…But I realized that there was a deeper reason I wanted to hear you talk.” V said, sighing sadly as he looked at you.  
  
”And that is…?” You stared at him briefly, and just when your eyes met his, you diverted it back into the ceiling.  
  
”I wanted to hear you say my name.” V confessed, “I wanted you to acknowledge my presence. I wanted you to…” He stopped abruptly. He was going to a place where there was no going back and his mind was like a rocky crag, his thoughts were the rocks thrown everywhere. There was no structure to them, no system. He was a mess.  
  
”You wanted me to know you exist.” You finished his sentence.  
  
”Yes…” V admitted, his demeanor sinking into melancholy by the second, “But of course, I did not know that was what I wanted… so I kept pressing on. I kept provoking you. Then, that night when you had that accident in the kitchen and I tended to your wound, I…”  
  
You couldn’t help staring at him. His emerald green eyes were in so much uncertainty. You wanted to hug him, but you knew it wasn’t your place.

“I tried to kiss you, only to realize that I was…” He struggled, “…no longer trying to provoke you.”  
  
”Then, what were you doing?” You munched on your potato chip, pretending that his admission didn’t interest you in the very slightest… to which you failed.  
  
”I…” He said softly. He shook his head and looked at you, changing the subject, “Would it be alright if I laid down beside you? Looking at you like this is a bit… awkward.”

“Feel free.” You moved to the side as he laid down on your pillow. His face was just several inches away from yours. He then placed his cane on the bedside table and arranged himself awkwardly. He had his hands on his stomach and his elbows pressed too closely to his torso. You were a hundred percent sure he was trying not to touch you. There was silence between the both of you, but the air was thick with hesitancy. It was making the both of you feel uncomfortable. You both stared at the ceiling. He could hear you breathe and that just made his nervousness even worse.  
  
”Well, you know…” You started, “Still, I was grateful to you for being nice to me.” There was a pang of sadness in your voice, as if you were saying goodbye to a person you once knew. V turned his head to look at you. You continued.  
  
”Before we left for Fortuna, Dante and I had a conversation. He said I was still dealing with the loss of my mom. I don’t think he meant to make me feel it this way but, it made me realize that I was dealing with my issues the wrong way. On the boat, my thoughts were chaotic. I was sad that I’d return to Fortuna and not see my mom anymore. I was scared because I didn’t know the person I turned into when she died. I mean, yeah all of you worked with me pretty well… but I kept my thoughts to myself because I was too scared and too anxious to let anyone know my problems, and I never trusted any of you the way I trusted my mom. And she loved that I didn’t speak because she said it made her feel like we were the only two people in the world who knew each others’ secrets.”  
  
You paused. You dug your hand into the chips bag but didn’t get any chips to eat, “But… you were there. You kept me company. You talked to me. You held my hand.” You lifted the hand that was inside the bag, then put it in again, “When I went back to my house and you saw how I cried because all of the realizations of coming home was proving too much, you held me. When you did, I realized that you… Dante… Nero and Nico… Trish and Lady… you were all my family now. My mom didn’t leave me alone… She left me with all of you.”  
  
V had his eyes locked onto yours, unknown to you. He stared at how the sun set and the light shifted from dusky orange to dark blue. Every curve on your face seemed to dance with the light and the soft shine of your eyes was absolutely enthralling. He wished he could tell you how beautiful you were. He cursed his stars (and his vocabulary) for not having the courage to do so.  
  
”But… you’re special.” You mentioned, your voice cracking just a bit, “Ever since the first mission we had together, I knew I liked you. I had a childish crush on you. Whenever I looked at you, I forgot to breathe… I felt like I was going to die.” You looked outside of the window, still refusing to meet his gaze, “But, with every time you made sure I wasn’t upset or every time you made sure I was alright… and every time you held my hand, kept me company, and made me feel like everything would turn out alright… I found myself falling for you more and more. Then, you held me and told me that everything was going to be okay. I knew then that I would be willing to give up my life for you… Because I love you.”  
  
”You almost did.” He mentioned, staring at your hair and sadly memorizing the scent of Jasmine on it.  
  
”Yeah…” You sadly laughed, munching on a tiny potato chip.  
  
”I was…” V started, “…the one taking care of you while you were asleep. I slept on a chair beside your bed in Fortuna. I read you poetry and…” He had to stop because you suddenly jerked your head to face him. You couldn’t take it anymore. You could feel his stare at the back of your head and you thought that if he didn’t reciprocate your feelings, he could just stop.  
  
”What? You took care of me. Thank you for that.” You said, blandly, “It just goes to show how much pity you must feel for me.”  
  
”Pity?” V furrowed his brows, “You think I _pity_ you?”  
  
”Why else would you be so nice, then?” You said, your brain was running out of options. It was feeling like a train with no brakes and it was about to fall out of a cliff.

“Because I---” V said, almost screaming. You gasped at him and regained his composure, “I’m sorry. I can’t believe I just did that.”  
  
”No, it’s alright.” You waved with your right hand, “I just feel so stupid, you know…?”  
  
”For what?” V asked you, almost in a whisper. You fidgeted with the chip bag and gulped.  
  
”I…” You bit your lip. Then, with an exhale you admitted, “I was deluding myself into thinking that you actually liked me back… that you weren’t that nice to everyone… You were just that nice to me.”

“You are not stupid…” V whispered. He turned his entire body, now looking at you fully.  
  
”Huh?”  
  
”I tried to kiss you… and I took care of you…” V mumbled, averting his eyes from yours. He got your hand from the bag, fingers still lined with a thin layer of salt. Your body was led to face him as well. You placed your empty chip bag at the other side of the bed, on the floor. Your left index finger was no longer bandaged and there was a faint scar on the palm side. He held onto your hand, gently but firmly, “…because you didn’t make me feel alone. I’ve always longed to be loved and protected, all of which you did. I’ve always focused on surviving… but I realized, with you, I was actually living a life I was proud of.”  
  
”What are you saying?” You sounded confused. Just several hours ago, you were absolutely sure he didn’t like you that way… Now, your certainty was wavering. His hand was pressed firmly against yours, and he was looking at it with a stare that you couldn’t explain.  
  
”I hate this…” V lamented, “I hate that there’s no exact word for it… how I feel for you. I do not think poetry that tells of this feeling has ever been written.” V paused, “Or maybe… it has.” He looked at you. You found yourself absolutely captured by his green eyes and you couldn’t look away. V closed his eyes and exhaled. He then recited the words in his mind:  
  
_My heart is a dead language_  
_and yet you_  
_pronounce every word_  
_perfectly and in time_

_My heart, a dusty tome_  
_and yet you_  
_turn my pages_  
_time and time again_

_My heart is a silent ocean_  
_but you, dearest_  
_are the wind that blows_  
_and causes ships to sink_

_My heart, oh, my heart_  
_is yours_  
_but only_  
_if you wanted it_

_I own not your heart_  
_but sometimes,_  
_I like to pretend_  
_that I do_

_But, my heart knows_  
_that in the morning_  
_your heart can_  
_and will only belong to you_

_So, my heart, ever so broken_  
_will always be silent_  
_For my heart longs for yours_  
_but its words can never be_  
_spoken_

“That’s my…” You realized, your heart slowly expanding in your chest. Your voice trailed as you looked into his beautiful, dark face for answers. Could it be…?  
  
”For the lack of a better set of words…” V said, he leaned closer to you, your locked hands are the only thing separating your faces. With eyes closed, he brought his lips to the back of your hand and planted a soft kiss on it. Your heart stopped at his actions and your breath hitched. He opened his eyes to look deeply into your already teary set and told you:  
  
”I love you, little wanderer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY LADIES AND GENTS. NSFW CHAPTER COMING UP NEXT. BE PREPARED.
> 
> And, I was initially intending for them to do it this chapter, but I dunno... it sort of felt.... hmm... incomplete? I wanted V to come to terms with his feelings and overcome his fear of being unable to rely on literature for words.
> 
> Also, who else loves how Nero and Nico sort of teamed up to get these two locked in together? I know I did.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading this far!!! I promise I'll try my best to make the future chapters even better. I really wouldn't make it past the first few chapters without your kudos and comments. As I said, this is my first fic in THREE FAKKING YEARS. I'm rusty. I'm dusty. I'm uncertain... but you all inspire me to continue writing. 
> 
> From the bottom of my heart, thank you.


	8. Forelsket

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forelsket (Norwegian)  
A euphoric feeling experienced when you start falling in love.
> 
> \-----
> 
> NSFW CHAPTER, EVERYBODY. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

The night was so quiet and V’s words rang through the air like a whisper. You looked into his beautiful green eyes and wondered how anyone could make something so beautiful. His skin was practically shining as the moonlight hit his cheek and his hair matched the color of the night sky. A rich, dark raven color.  
  
You saw his pink lips smirk a bit, “Are we simply going to take turns being speechless?”  
  
”Sorry…?” Your brain couldn’t process anything right now. It got stuck when he said the words you’ve never expected him to say. He loves you. He just told you that. You love him, too.  
  
But… _now what?__  
__  
_”Do you know…” He plants another kiss on your hand, carefully lifting up your fingers, “…that your eyes sparkle when you’re shy?”  
  
You felt that all too familiar heat rush to your face as you blushed. You tried to look away, but he lifted his hands to cup your cheek. You could feel static when his fingertips gently touched your skin. It tingled and you had to wince for a bit. He softly laughed at you and traced a finger on your cheek. Then, he took your hand and started unfurling your salt-laced fingers. You had to make sure you were breathing when he did this. However, he closed his eyes and started to suck the salt out of your fingers one by one, softly. Your breathing became shallow and you found that a part of you wanted to run away… but there was a giant part you that wanted to know what his kisses felt like.  
  
But…  
  
”You see?” He stopped, opened his eyes, and looked at you with a playful smile. You retracted your arm from his grasp and looked from side to side. You could hear your anxious heartbeat through your ears and sweat started to form on your forehead. You had to swallow as you started to see him lean into you for a kiss.

“Wait…” You muttered, planting your hand in front of your face. Your palm was met by his lips and he opened his eyes upon impact. You closed your eyes apologetically as his eyes looked at you, deeply concerned.  
  
”Umm…” You hesitated, your voice cracking a bit. You bit your lower lip and looked at him, reluctantly, “I, uh… don’t really… ummm…” He was still looking at you intently, silently urging you to go on, “I… don’t really _know_ how to do this.”  
  
”What? You mean…?” V asked you. In your long silence, his eyes flew wide open, “Do you mean you’ve never…?” You shook your head, a blush slowly creeping through your entire face.  
  
”I haven’t even kissed anyone before…” You softly admitted. You had to tell yourself that you felt like a fool.  
  
”You mean you’re a vir---” V said, out loud. You covered his mouth, feeling ashamed. No one was going to hear, but you still felt like you’d be embarrassed if you heard him say it out loud.  
  
”Yes, yes, yes. Now, shut up.” You furrowed your brows in shame. You tried to look down, but both of his hands held your face, softly caressing your cheeks with his thumbs. He, then, smiled at you and whispered.  
  
”It would be a great honor for me to be your first.”  
  
You gasped. His voice was so strong yet so gentle, like the ocean breeze that night on the ferry. You could feel his breath on your skin, and the smell of tea leaves danced into your consciousness, intoxicating you. You’ve wanted this for so long, but… now that it’s here, you were unsure.  
  
”I’m…” You sighed, giving up the last bit of courage you had left, “I’m scared…”  
  
”I see.” V tucked a strand of hair away from your gorgeous face. He, then, kissed your forehead. It was a gentle and chaste kiss that made you feel all tingly inside. He rested his forehead onto yours and told you.  
  
”Don’t worry… I’ll be gentle.”  
  
V looked at your visage in this dark room. He didn’t want you recoiling into yourself and keeping him hanging although he thought that would be a pretty fitting revenge for him leaving _you_ hanging last night. He smiled at you and sighed as he lifted your face to meet his, your lips already parted a bit in surprise. You were scared and, in fact, you were shaking quite a bit. He exhaled and pulled away for a second. He didn’t want to rush you into things. If he was to be honest, he was also technically inexperienced… but since Vergil had Nero, it was sort of a given that he has slept with someone at least once in his life. He just wished you would relax into him, let his lips rest on yours and let the night pass by… as painfully slow as possible.  
  
”Here…” V said. He held your right hand and put it around his neck. He patted your hand to rest on his nape. He ran his hand on your arm to comfort you and smiled to see that you’ve relaxed quite a bit, “You can hold me here, for now. But, please…” He rested his forehead on yours, his lips just inches away, “Please let me kiss you.”  
  
”Mhmm…” You replied, giving him the green light. He could feel you breathe as he closed the gap between the both of you. Then, his lips met yours and it was like fireworks. Your breathing hitched quite a bit, obviously unprepared for his kiss, but once his arm wrapped around your waist to pull you closer, he saw that you fully gave yourself to him. He ran the tip of his tongue on your lower lip, asking you to open your lips for him. He felt your lip smirk as you followed his request. He then suddenly kissed you so deeply, you moaned.  
  
”Oh…” His lips broke away from you for a second, “Do you like that?”  
  
”I think…” You said, trying to catch your breath, “…I do.”  
  
”Then, let me do it some more.” V smiled as he inched closer to you. His hand was now on your back, coaxing you to turn. Without breaking the deep kiss you’re sharing, you turned to the ceiling with V right above you.  
  
You felt yourself relax with his kisses. His kisses were sweet and soft, his lips were gentle and luscious. The moment he kissed you, you knew you wanted more. You were melting under the heat of this moment and you could feel your regrets and apprehensions take a swan dive from the window. You softly moaned as he let go of your lips. You gulped and looked at him, anticipating.  
  
”May I…” He started to ask permission, “…kiss your neck?” You leaned to the side, exposing your neck for him. He leaned into you, his hand now holding your cheek. He teased you by running his lips onto your skin, breathing on you without kissing you. His soft hair tickled your jaw as your grumbled a complaint. He was teasing you too much. He let out a soft chuckle then proceeded to kiss your neck, softly at first then slowly increasing in intensity. You were feeling so overwhelmed by him and his presence, you had to grab onto your pillow and squeeze really hard. All of a sudden, you felt him bite into you. He didn’t use his teeth, but you were still shocked at his gesture.  
  
”Ah…!” Your breathing stopped for a second. He then licked his bite mark slowly and kissed your neck gently, making you come back to your comfort zone. He distanced himself to admire the hickey he just left your neck, now a bright shade of red.  
  
”Everyone is going to know you’re mine now.” He smiled. You turned to him and giggled. You then reached out your hands to him. He entered it and returned to kissing your lips. You ran your fingers through his hair and you heard him purr as you did so. You felt his hand travel from your face, to your jaw, to your neck, to your…  
  
”Wait.” You broke away, noticing his hands somewhere above your chest. V stopped and looked at you. Your mind was still in a haze, but there was something you wanted to do. You took a glance at V as you decided to sit on your bed. You traced your finger from his forehead, to his hair line, down his cheeks, to the front of his lips. He closed his eyes, relishing the experience of your touch. You continued to go down his chin, then his collar bones, only to stop at his chest, above where his heart is. You could feel it beating wildly beneath the skin, bones, and fabric.  
  
”Do you…” You whimpered, looking him in the eyes. His eyes were silently hungry for you, but you saw how he was struggling to stay away from you, “Do you love me?”  
  
”Yes.” He immediately replied, almost without pause. His voice, almost begging in tone.  
  
”Then…” You raised your hands and placed them on his shirt’s buttons. You started undoing them, and when he tried to help, you swatted his hands away. Slightly irritated, you said, “Let me.”  
  
”As you wish.” He said, kissing your forehead once more. He closed his eyes to let you take control.  
  
You peeled him from his white cotton shirt to expose his tattooed body. You thought to yourself that he was absolutely handsome with clothes on… but now that he has his shirt off, you found that he was breathtaking. You had to catch your breath as you traced the lines on his chest, his arms, his stomach… In the dark, you looked really hard at his naked body trying your best to memorize every bit of him.  
  
You paused all of a sudden, making him slowly open his eyes. He asked you, “Is there something wrong?”  
  
”N-no, it’s just…” You wanted to tell him he was beautiful, but what came out of your mouth was: “You’re skinny.” He laughed at you, planting a playful kiss on your nose.  
  
”N-n-no! What I meant to say was…” You panicked, trying to alleviate the situation. But he kissed your lips, deeply and passionately, making your mouth and your thoughts be quiet. He then pushed you under him, sending you back on the bed.  
  
”With all due respect, but…” He said, brushing his hand through your neck. He snapped the first button of your shirt free.  
  
”Shut…” Second button, free.  
  
”…the fuck…” Third button, free.  
  
”…up.” Fourth button, free.

He kissed your collarbones as he removed the remaining buttons. You took a deep breath as he pressed his face in the valley between your breasts and brought a hand behind you to undo the straps of your bra. Once they were free, he removed it, only to be met with your hands suddenly covering your chest.  
  
”Oh no, no, no…” He clicked his tongue at the gesture, but when he saw you weren’t looking at him and you were blushing, he then decided to hold one of your hands and held it close to his heart. He then gave you a kiss on the cheek, making you turn to him. He followed the turn of your head, keeping his lips close to your ear. He was breathing so close to you, you could feel butterfly wings beating rapidly on your bare stomach.  
  
”I want to see… _all of you_.” He whispered into your ear, the desire practically dripping with every word. You bit your lip at the sensation and you felt the warmth of your face travel down to your stomach. V breathed again, “_Please_.”  
  
You were helpless. You felt your grip on your chest loosening, and before you knew it, your breasts were out. They were small but full, and V licked his lips while looking at them. He proceeded to kiss you on the neck, lips traveling down the veins of your neck to your collarbone. He looked at you while his face hovered over the left side of your chest, silently asking for permission. You nodded and tilted your head back. His hand slowly made his way to yours, interlocking the fingers together. He then proceeded to kiss your nipple while holding your other breast with his other hand. He let his tongue dance on the surface making you muffle a moan.  
  
”Nnng…” It was such a foreign feeling to you. It was starting to get so hot and the both of you were sweating. The way his tongue played with you was absolutely unbelievable. He would bury his face in between your breasts to listen to your heartbeat, and when he found it to be racing, he’d slow down just a bit to give you time to catch your breath. You could feel the heat all through your body now, a majority of it pooling in your nether regions. It was such a new and uncomfortable feeling, and V didn’t make it any easier by placing his knee where your entrance is, occasionally bumping into it.  
  
”You smell so good…” He whispered to you as he rose up from kissing your chest, returning to your lips. You welcomed this respite and decided to kiss him lovingly. He rested his entire body on you and it made you wonder what was poking your hip.

You spent a good few seconds kissing and enjoying being in each others arms before you felt his hand travel to your hips. He backed away and lowered himself onto you. He was seated on your side while you remained laying down. He looked into your eyes and you blinked.  
  
”What is it?” You asked him. His fingers were already toying with the drawstrings on your shorts.  
  
He sighed, “This is only going to get harder… You sure you’re up to it?”  
  
You took a breath to think about your answer. This is it, the point of no return. You looked at V, his eyes searching and sad… but for some reason, they didn’t look as sad anymore. You loved his eyes, and you couldn’t bear the thought of denying him what he wanted. And, to be honest, it thrilled you that at the moment… what he wanted was you. You opened your hand and reached out to him, he leaned into it and rested his cheek.  
  
Like a prayer, you told him, “I love you. Do it.”  
  
He nodded as he untied the drawstrings from your shorts. He pulled them down to see you wearing white cotton underwear. You saw him smile at it and you had to hide your face with your hands. He then leaned back into you, his face hovering gently over yours. With a kiss on the lips, he then led you up on a seated position. He sat behind you and placed his legs beside your hips. From behind, he held you, kissed your neck, and massaged your exposed breasts. You could feel that uncomfortable pool down there getting wetter and wetter and you closed your legs upon instinct. However, while still kissing your neck, V let his hand travel to your core. He coaxed you to open your thighs to let him in. You felt a blush come in as his hand brushed across your wetness seeping through your underwear.  
  
”Hmm…” He hummed in your ear. That poking stick on your back twitched quite a bit. He drew circles on your entrance, making you squirm upon impact. He was hungry for you and it spilled into his words, “You’re so…_wet_.”  
  
”Mmm…” You pursed your lips, trying to muffle your moans but V simply pressed into you harder, hitting you where you were sensitive. He was stroking you up and down through the fabric and you loved the sensation so much, you felt like you were going to go insane.  
  
”Say my name.” He ordered with a whisper to your ear. He kissed the corner of your lips as he rubbed you a bit faster, making you squeak all of a sudden, “Say… my… name.”  
  
Your voice hitched. You gulped a big one and leaned back into his shoulder, your lips brushing against the bottom of his earlobes. With a whisper, you said, “V…”  
  
”Ah… yes…” He closed his eyes in ecstasy. You smiled, resting in the thought that he liked it. You leaned closer to him, planting a kiss on his jawline, “Oh, V…”  
  
You could tell he was playing with you. He was turning your mind into mush. You couldn’t think straight anymore and everything was a beautiful, wonderful blur. You could feel him breathing on you, his chest rising and falling behind you. His hands were constantly touching you exactly in the places where you liked to be touched. He kissed you on your neck, on your shoulders, on your cheeks and made you very weak. And he stared at you with those beautiful emerald eyes that made you forget everything.  
  
”Knives, I…” He panted, obviously feeling the heat in his body as well. He slowed down as he tried to catch his breath. You tried to mumble a complaint but it just ended up sounding like a wordless whine. He then lifted his hand from your region to your chin as he made you look towards him. You drowned into his deep green eyes as you stared.  
  
”I…” He started, still huffing, “I want you to cum for me. Is that alright?”  
  
You couldn’t take it anymore. This heat was impossible and sticking close to V was making it even more impossible to bear. You felt you needed the release. That hot pool of fluids were collecting on you with every stroke and every caress. It was too hard to contain. Wordless, you nodded as you kissed him hungrily on the lips. He kissed you back, darting his tongue and mixing it with yours. His hand took a hold of your underwear and slowly inched it away from your body, tossing it to the side.  
  
You were fully naked now and you thanked the heavens for that brief moment of relief. Your region was fully exposed now, glistening with your lustful fluids. V took a moment to look down at you, completely bare against him. Your face fully taken over by carnal ecstasy, but you opened your eyes to look at him and he saw it… Love.

That love you’ve always given to him unconditionally. The love he will forever question if he deserves. The love he is willing to give up his life to protect. The love he uses as a will to continue living. _That_ kind of love.  
  
You gave him a weak smile as your eyes sparkled in the moonlight. Sweat was forming on your forehead. You were the most beautiful thing he has ever known and you exceptionally took his breath away. He leaned in for a kiss, to which you accepted. You moaned in gratitude and as he lifted his lips, he planted another kiss on your forehead and he declared:  
  
”I love you.” A kiss, “I love you so much.”  
  
He then placed his fingers on your region and looked for your clit. You moaned loudly as his fingers stumbled upon an engorged nub right on top of your entrance. He continued to rub it--- fast, then slow. Fast, then slow. Then, he would press harder, only to press ever so lightly. He then traced shapes on it, making sure to explore every nook and cranny you could ever offer and you were practically squirming in his arms. With his middle finger, he teased at your entrance, slowly rubbing it up and down, making you softly scream.  
  
”Ah…!” You let it out, then immediately biting your lip. He immediately kissed your lips and pressed against your breast to get you to relax into him once more. He could feel his member straining underneath his pants, and you squirming against it was making it feel so tortuously good.  
  
You could feel your back tensing and stiffening as hot energy was starting to collect in your area. You grabbed onto V’s arms, digging your nails on his skin. You wanted to let go, you wanted to explode. Upon feeling your nails on his skin, he started rubbing vigorously, almost inhumanely. You opened your mouth to groan but no sounds came out.  
  
”Come on, baby…” V whispered with a kiss, “Cum for me. Please.”  
  
”V! Ah! Ah! Oh my god!” You were reaching your limit. You were about to spill out and you knew you were going to make a mess. But his rubbing was relentless, and pleasure quickly took over you.  
  
”V! I’m gonna---!” You screamed out his name as you twitched on him. He growled into your neck as he rubbed you into oblivion. Then, you came… hot and wet. You had to catch your breath as the heat from your body washed over your head.  
  
”Thank you…” V whispered into your ear, lovingly.  
  
”You’re… welcome…” You felt weak, but happy. He held you tight in his arms, both his hands wrapped around your waist. You placed your hands on top of his, sinking further into his embrace as your rode your high down. After a couple of minutes, V moved from behind you to in front of you. He knelt on the mattress and unbuttoned his black jeans. You silently watched him as he pulled his pants down to reveal himself fully unclothed. You realized that the stick poking you… was actually his erect member. You sat up just to look at him, from the crown on his head to his knees. To you, he looked like a Greek sculpture… the image of absolute perfection. You were probably gawking at his naked form for too long so he decided to speak.

“Am I… too thin?” He asked you, cautiously.  
  
You softly giggled, “No, V.” You kissed his cheek, “To me, you’re perfect.”  
  
He sighed, relieved. Your eyes traveled down to his erect member then back to his eyes, questioning what’s going to happen next. He then explained, “I’m going to put this in you. Is that alright?”  
  
Your eyes winced just a bit. V might have been lean and thin, but his dick was quite the size. And given your virginity, you really weren’t sure whether you could take him.  
  
”We’ll take it slow, I promise.” He said, “It might hurt, so…”  
  
You remained quiet, eyes closed in deep thought. When you opened your eyes to meet his, you answered:  
  
”Even if it hurts, I won’t have any regrets whatsoever.”  
  
He kissed you gently on the forehead as he motioned for you to lay back down. He opened your thighs and took his hard member into his hands. He dragged it along your open area, hitting your clit and making you squirm. He was making sure you were thoroughly wet before he entered you. You appreciated that.  
  
”V…” You called out to him. He was still stroking you when he looked at you to reply, “Yes?”  
  
”Please say my name.” You exhaled, as pleasure was slowly building up in you again.  
  
”Knives…” He said, steadily stroking himself on you.  
  
”That’s not my name…” You struggled to say as you fought the moan threatening to leave your throat.  
  
”Tell me… Please.” He said, his voice slowly turning ravenous once more.  
  
”It’s…” You swallowed hard, “It’s [Y/N].”  
  
”[Y/N]…” He repeated your name on his lips and you don’t think you’ve ever heard your name ever mentioned so beautifully.  
  
”I’m going in now…” He stopped stroking himself on you and angled his head towards your entrance, “Please tell me if it hurts, alright? I can stop anytime”  
  
”Okay.” You smiled weakly. He leaned into you and kissed your lips softly. He told you to focus on him, look into his eyes, and breathe. He then pressed his hips forward, pressing the head of his member slowly into you. You could feel your entrance expanding and… It was true, it hurt like a bitch.  
  
”Ah…” You winced in pain as your hands gripped V’s shoulders. He kissed the side of your head to comfort you. He knew you were hurting and he knew it would take a while before you got used to it. He continued to kiss you as you breathed deeply. Your walls slowly contracting around his head, getting used to his width. He wasn’t even fully inside you… but you already felt this good. He held very still and didn’t move until you stopped wincing in pain.  
  
”Do you want me to move again?” He asked you, gently. You nodded, eyes half-closed and teary. He kissed your forehead as he pressed a few more inches into you, you winced in pain again.  
  
”Don’t… stop…” You begged, “Just… keep… going… slowly…” You felt V nod beside your head as you felt him slowly press himself deep into you. It hurt less and less, and started feeling good more and more.  
  
”Fuck…” He mumbled, “You feel so good around me, [Y/N]…” You licked your lips at him mentioning your real name, “It’s taking everything in me to not push into you all of a sudden.”

He breathed into your neck and the sensation sent tingles all over your body, making you feel so good. He continued to press into you while speaking, “You have no idea how amazing you feel right now…” He kissed your neck and you moaned pretty loudly.  
  
A few more inches in and he said, “Sharing this with you… just blows my mind.” He kissed your lips passionately and you could feel him pelvic area hit you. He was finally fully in you.  
  
”_While thy branches mix with mine…_” He suddenly quoted, kissing your forehead and holding your hands into his.

“_...and our roots together join._” You finished his quotation, answering him with a kiss on the lips.  
  
”Alright… you ready?” He smiled. You returned the gesture and nodded.

He slid out and slid extremely slowly back into you. You felt yourself squirm and recoil in both pleasure and pain. He was breathing heavily, obviously feeling an insatiable sense of joy and lust over you. He slowly returned to you, rubbing your spot just the right way, causing you to mewl out at the sensation. You were both breathing heavily and he was purring into your ears. You dug your nails through his back as he held onto your sides. You could feel him ramming into you, slowly but a bit harder now, his pelvis hitting your clit magnificently. The stimulation sending electricity through your entire body.  
  
”Oh my god… Mmmm…” You grumbled against his tattooed skin, kissing his shoulders.  
  
”You feel so tight…” He commented, pushing harder into you, his pre-cum slowly coating you from the inside.  
  
”V, I…” You groaned, your thoughts almost lost in total and absolute pleasure, “I love you.”  
  
”Oh, baby…” He kissed your lips and swiped his tongue along your lips, “I love you, too.”  
  
He smiled at you and as you shared your passionate kiss, he started to push into you with increasing speed. Your mind was slowly losing it. No more space, no more time, no more objects. This room didn’t exist. This shop didn’t exist. You didn’t exist and neither did V. There was just this feeling of sheer and absolute bliss taking over the both of you as your made love. There was nothings separating you now. You were one. He was yours and you were his… and that is all that will ever be true from now on.  
  
You felt his arms totally envelop you as you slowly rose to your peak. You felt his member harden further into you and knew that he was close, too. You kissed his neck and whispered “I love you” to him in between moans.  
  
”Fuck, I’m---” He buckled. He was at the edge, restraining himself from releasing into you without your permission. He looked at you, hungrily searching for an answer. When you nodded, he kissed you and proceeded to climax into you, releasing his seed into your womb and sending the both of you into an unbridled sense of ecstasy. Shaking, he collapsed onto you and you felt all of him relax into your arms.  
  
He was laying on your shoulder, his nose and lips pressed against your neck. His hands were on the bed, by your side. You patted his head and leaned into him, smelling darjeeling tea and oranges from his hair. You were both breathing heavily and trying to catch your breath. You kissed his forehead while he slowly hugged you with his arms… Then, you started giggling.  
  
”What’s so funny?” He asked, lifting his head to look at you, “Why are you laughing?”  
  
”It seems to me that…” You said in between giggles, “I actually let you have my clam chowder.”  
  
”You know… I never quite understood what that meant.” V said, giving out a faint laugh of his own.  
  
”I just thought Nico meant ‘I like you enough and I’d share my food with you’.” You mentioned, “Didn’t know she meant it in an… R-rated way.”  
  
The both of you laughed and V kissed you on the lips again, this time sweetly and innocently. He moved to the side of the bed and invited you into his open arms. You proceeded to move into him and cuddle. He pulled the blanket from under the both of you and tucked yourselves in. The both of you were getting sleepy, and drowsiness was slowly taking over you.

V caressed your back and held you closer. With a kiss to your crown, he whispered, “I love you, Knives.”  
  
”I love you, too.” You kissed him on the lips, “V.”  
  
\----------  
  
The next morning, sounds of a burning torch rang into the air on the opposite side of the door. Nico was seated near the melted knob and exploded wood that locked you and V inside your room, firing up the torch with a mad fury.  
  
”Damn it, Nero! I told you to lock the door from the outside. Not _melt the fucking thing into its foundation!_” Nico cursed Nero as she was slowly cutting the metal off of the wood.  
  
”Well, I had to lock them in somehow and I didn’t have a chair with me to lock the knob, so…” Nero scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit stupid.  
  
Nico just rolled her eyes and continued to zap the metal bits on the door. At least, she knew the Devil Breaker she made for Nero works… but she was actually worried for you. After Nero informed everyone that you were already awake, he also informed everyone that you had already confessed to V but V left you hanging. After V woke up that day, Nico and Nero hatched a plan together to make sure you and V would end up talking about your feelings, and maybe ---_just maybe_\---__ end up together as a couple. Finally. However, she knew that V can be a giant uncertain chicken at times, especially when it comes to things he can’t explain or put words to. She wasn’t so certain that you’d appreciate being locked in a room with a guy who left you without an answer, but she knew she had to take that chance. You and V were perfect for each other in its dark, fucked up, yet sweet and innocent kind of way.  
  
The door clicked open finally and Nico immediately removed her gear. She entered the room first, but the moment she saw you and V spooning while asleep on your bed, naked… She knew she made the right choice. Nero tried to go in but Nico pushed him out almost immediately.

“Hey, Nico! What gives?” Nero complained, almost screaming until Nico shushed him.  
  
”Let’s leave ‘em alone for a bit.” Nico said, a sheepish smile gracing her face, “It seems they uh…” Nico chortled, “…gave the phrase ‘_get a room_’ a whole new meaning.”  
  
\----------  
  
V opened his eyes to the scent of Jasmine filling up his nostrils. He blinked a few times to see peach colored walls instead of red. He looked in front of him to see the back of your head, with you still sound asleep in his arms. He cuddled into you and relished the warmth that you gave out. He couldn’t believe what the both of you did last night… and even more so, he couldn’t believe he told you that he loves you, in his own words. He ran his fingers through your bare shoulders and realized that your body was a story book he’d gladly read over and over.  
  
With a kiss on the shoulder, he felt you stir awake. He leaned into your cheek as you turned to him for a kiss. You smiled as brightly as the morning sun, and you were breathtakingly beautiful, even if your hair was a mess.

“Good morning, V.” You greeted him.  
  
”Morning.” He replied, smiling at you.  
  
The joy of waking up together was cut short when you looked at the clock to see that it read nine thirty. You suddenly sat straight up, got your hair tie from the bedside table, tied your hair in a messy bun, and stood up.  
  
”Hey, Knives! What’s the matter?” V asked, looking at you hastily flipping through the clothes on the floor, looking for your underwear. You would toss his clothes to him while collecting yours.  
  
”It’s 9:30 already! I haven’t even cooked breakfast yet!” You said, obviously putting on your clothes in a hurry. V dressed up by your bed and hurriedly went beside you after getting his cane from the side of the bed.  
  
”Come here.” He hurriedly hugged you from the back. You were laughing while telling him to get off of you. You tried your best to get to the door with him hanging onto your every step.  
  
”The door was welded shut so---” V said to you trying to get you to stay, but when your extended hand pushed the door and it swung open, the both of you had to stand there, dumbfounded.  
  
”Uh-huh…” You stood there, head cocked to the side with a weird expression on your face.  
  
”I think…” V muttered, “…they’re letting us out?”  
  
You looked at him, unsure. But when he held out his hand to you, you smiled and took it. Together, you got out of the room and went down the stairs. It was so quiet in the shop.  
  
_Unnaturally_ quiet.  
  
All of a sudden, music started screaming from a boombox outside the shop. It took Nero kicking in the front door, holding the boombox over his head for you to know what music he was playing.

_I just had sex_  
_And it felt so good_  
_A woman let me put my penis inside of her_  
_I just had sex_  
_and I’ll never go back_  
_to the not having sex phase of my life_  
____  
__”Nero…” You had to facepalm yourself, while leaning onto V’s arm. V simply laughed at the entire gesture. Trish, Lady, Nico, and Dante popped out of their hiding spots and decided to crowd all over you.

“Hey! Congratulations to the new couple!” Lady clapped her hands.  
  
”V, you better take care of her or I’m weldin’ you a hole you’re gonna regret.” Nico threatened V with her torch. She then used it to light a cigarette.  
  
”Oh, you won’t really need to do that, Nico.” Dante mentioned, “If anybody tries to hurt my little Knives, I’ll hurt them myself.”  
  
You laughed at their threats, “Why are you all threatening V? Why is no one threatening me?”  
  
”Nah, you’re cool. You’ve been through enough bullshit already.” Nero put down the extremely loud boombox. “And besides, I’ve always wanted to know what having a mom is like.” He nudged V in the gut, “Treat her right, _dad_.”  
  
You laughed with the entire crew. V was holding your hand, Dante had his arm protectively around you. Trish and Lady were both looking out for you. Nico and Nero (now officially your stepson) were always so supportive of you. You couldn’t ask for anything better.  
  
It was only then that Nico served them brunch. You squealed when she brought out blueberry pancakes… Your favorite. You all had brunch together, with all of you seated in your designated places, except you who were sitting on V’s lap. The jukebox played a very upbeat song, and with it, you realized that silence, slowly, can turn into something so beautifully loud--- like family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND THIS IS IT, PEOPLE.
> 
> This is the end of "Silence, Slowly". And it has been quite a ride. I honestly didn't think I'd be able to last this long, and I honestly didn't think it would get as much attention as it did. Within days, I got about a thousand hits with more than a hundred kudos. A lot of you commented and gave me encouragement with your words.
> 
> Coming from a writer coming out of a three-year hiatus, I absolutely, extremely, irrevocably, unapologetically... THANK YOU.
> 
> I love you all, so so so much. 
> 
> Special thanks to my new friend @katkaotic87 who added me up on Discord and saw how much I flipped while trying to write this NSFW chapter. Thanks for your support, katkaotic87. <3 I will forever treasure you.
> 
> SPEAKING OF DISCORD, since it's already up and running, why don't you guys add me up?  
Add me at a.jill.sandwixh#3396
> 
> I can't wait to talk to you all, personally.
> 
> PS:
> 
> I might release extra bonus chapters later, so keep a watchful eye. THANK YOU. LOVE YOU LIKE VERGIL LOVES POWER. KTHNXBAI.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! How did you like this first chapter? I know it's kinda short but I put in about three to four days of effort into it. I hope you liked it. Anyway, for the next chapter, V is going to be accompanied by Dante and his crew. Any clue as to what they're going to do to get you to talk? Or at the very least, make a sound? Let me know in the comment section what your ideas are. I'm really curious to see what ideas roam through those creative brains of yours. <3 
> 
> Anyway, I'll be seeing you in the next chapter. Adios!


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